The 17-Year-Old Boy Who Hugged a Suicide Bomber

2022-01-06 20:40:11 Written by Alex

It was a cold Monday morning on the 6th of January 2014 and as the first light appeared on the mountains of the Ibrahim Zai village of the Hangu district, people were already out and about. Residents were on their way to the markets. And morning assembly was in process at the Government High School of the village.

Aitzaz Hassan, however, had been late far too many times. So, too, were his two friends Shahzeb and Zohaib. The three pupils were quite sure that the teachers would punish them for their habitual tardiness.

Shahzeb and Zohaib were quick to cross the road to reach the school, while Aitzaz Hassan was following them several meters behind — he couldn’t walk as fast as his friends due to his weight.

It was then that they noticed another young boy, 17 -18 years old perhaps, wearing a school uniform and making his way to the school.

Shahzeb was suspicious and asked: “What are you doing here?”

“I am going to the school!” he replied.

“But I haven’t seen you in school before!” replied Shahzeb, unconvinced.

“I am getting admission here” came the reply.

Shahzeb was still not satisfied, and pointed out “It is not the month for admissions.” Then he told the new boy: “Wait here! I am informing the headmaster of the school…”

So saying, he began moving towards the school. Seeing that the new boy was following him in, he stopped and pushed him on the chest. That was when he felt some heavy material attached to the chest of the boy!

He called out to his friend Aitzaz: “Khud-kush!”(suicide bomber) — to raise the alarm that it was a suicide bomber. He then started running towards the school.

Aitzaz began moving towards the suicide bomber. He had been wrapped in his woolen shawl, but now threw it aside. And he picked up a heavy stone to try and hit the attacker. It failed to stop him. Having reached him, Aitzaz grabbed him and held on to him with all the might of his body. The suicide bomber, unable to get away from the tenacious boy, detonated his explosive vest.

A heavy blast rent the air. Parts from the two bodies were hurled a hundred meters away.

Mujtaba, the elder brother of Aitzaz, narrates the story with deep grief. Tears appear in his blue eyes as he recalls being at home that morning.

He says: “When I heard the sound of the blast, I came out of the room. I heard my mother crying. When I asked her as to what had happened, she replied that Aitzaz had just left the house and that she was sure he had been injured in the blast. I replied, ‘For God’s sake, don’t talk that way in the early morning!’ But she went on crying. ‘My Aitzaz is not safe, she said. ‘My heart is telling me so!’ And then I left my house and was running towards the school as dozens of people gathered there and everyone was looking towards me. I asked, ‘What has happened?’ No one replied. After repeatedly asking, one relative asked me ‘Can you bear the news?’ I told him that I could. He told me that Aitzaz had been seriously injured in the attack. I sat on the ground in shock, clutching my feet, and asked people to give me some water. They took me to the hospital where my heart, my lovely brother, was sleeping forever. And from that point on, I don’t know what happened…”

 

Aitzaz's father said that his son made a sacrifice to save the lives of others: "My son made his mother cry but saved hundreds of mothers from crying for their children." Scores of people attended his funeral to pay their respects. Aitzaz's story led to an outpouring of emotion on television and on social media, where the hashtag #onemillionaitzazs trended on Twitter.

The Minister for Information in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Shah Farman, said that Aitzaz was a "real hero and the true face of the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa"

 

Pakistani Chief of the Army Staff General Raheel Sharif said that Aitzaz Hasan is "a national hero, who has sacrificed his today for our tomorrow."

Source

Wikipedia

Nayadaur