Math department head who has lost count

The media is not allowed to interview any patient without prior permission as doctors say the injured are in a state of shock and should not be “harassed” further. But according to Ahmad’s nephew Faraz, who is pacing the corridor outside, his uncle was in a hall with 18 students when the seven terrorists began their rampage that killed 148.

“He (Ahmad) hid his students in the hall and shut the room’s two doors after he heard gunshots,” Faraz said. “He told all his students to lie on the ground fearing a suicide bomber would blow himself up near them. But the gunmen broke the doors down and opened fire. All of
them were hit, but he and three of his students somehow survived, despite being hit by multiple bullets.”

The terrorists, though, were not done. They started firing again after a brief pause. While Ahmad’s students could not survive the second string of bullets, the teacher covered his face with a cape, giving the impression that he had died. It worked. The gunmen moved away, seeking their next set of victims.

When the pictures of the terrorists were released and later shown to Ahmad, he immediately recognised those who had opened fire.

The numbers, however, are something Ahmad may take more time to come to terms with. There are 31 dead and 45 injured registered with Lady Reading Hospital alone. The injured include 16 patients who are still admitted to the city’s largest medical facility. Of these, four are in the general intensive care unit (ICU). Many more dead and wounded are registered with Combined Military Hospital which is off-limits to the media.

As one enters the Lady Reading Hospital, the most striking images are of the posters on the walls. “You were a brave man, braver than all of us,” stated one such poster. Another had information about a mass prayer for those killed in the brutal assault.

Ahmad’s is not the only bed surrounded by flowers. In fact, many relatives of patients don’t even know where the flowers are coming from. But then, they say they are not looking for sympathy either, especially from politicians. “The Chief Minister visited the hospital, stayed there for a while and left without uttering a word of comfort,” said one parent as he hurried past.

Parents are so shook up that some don’t want to send their children to school, at least not immediately. “My wife does not allow my son to even go for his daily tuitions. The city has been jolted by the incident. I wonder why these people (the terrorists) are not eliminated from the face of this Earth like they eliminated those small children without showing any mercy,” said Sohail Ahmad, a father of three.

Sohail added that his neighbour Farhat Begum, an Urdu lecturer, lost her life in the attack while her youngest son Baqir was injured.

Farhat’s other son Sitwat escaped unhurt. Almost everyone knows someone who was a victim of the tragedy, except perhaps those who were victims themselves.