The Shared Pain


THE SHARED PAIN

(to commemorate the second shahadat anniversary of Capt Omerzeb Afzal Baig T.Bt)

“Papa je aap kasie hain”. It has now been two years that my ears yearn to hear these words. My son, Capt Omerzeb Shaheed would always ask me whenever he used to ring me up. Certainly, there is nothing special in these words, but somehow for me, these words always sounded so lyrical carrying lots of amity, obedience and docility. I got so much tuned to these words that I would utter them myself and enjoy some unbelievable mystical feelings. And now, once Capt Omerzeb having had the honor of a Shaheed has shifted to his heavenly abode, the utterances of these words make me very satisfied and also provide great solace to our pain.

Albeit, Shahadat is a singular honor and great blessings of ALLAH, but being a temporal it is a great test of patience, courage and resilience for the parents and other family members of Shaheeds. My son’s shahadat no doubt  is a great pain, but ALLAH gave us the courage to bear this worldly loss through the ineffable support of our relatives, friends and the officers community ( serving and retired) of the great Battalion of my Shaheed Son – 9 AK Regt.

As it goes “pain shared is pain lessened”. There is, certainly a heavenly truth in this. Right from the day of Capt Omerzeb’s Shahadat, the way people from all walks of life, known as well as unknown, thronged our house to share our grief, to be with us at the hour of our need, to pick our tears up and to stand shoulder to shoulder with us have been highly encouraging.

How can we forget those young and old; men and women; friends and relatives; companions and comrades who shared our pain? How can we forget the gesture of the great man (unknown), who came on clutches along with his family, searching for my house in the dark rainy night, only to pay homage to my shaheed son and share our grief and pain?  How true it is “the life is about giving and the rest is taken care of”.

How can we forget the officers and their families of my son’s Battalion who came all and sundry, Generals and soldiers in groups and as individuals to stand by our side, pat us and share with us their feelings and admirations for Capt Omerzeb Shaheed? Our heartful gratitude to General Kausar the Colonel of the Battalion, the Commanding officers, the retired senior officers of the Battalion and all other officers and men.

How can we forget the attention of Pakistan Army – the mother organization of me and my shaheed son? The way the Army is looking after the families of shaudah, we salute Pakistan Army in all humility for sharing our grief. The celebration of Shaudah day on 30th April every year is testimony that the sacrifices of shaudah will always be remembered and that their families will be looked after in the best possible way.

Now! With so much sharing, with so many shoulders to carry the pangs of our pain, with so many hands to pray for these shaheeds, with so many tears to roll down alongside the pained families – where stands the pain?  It certainly not only gets halved but further diminishes to the extent that it turns into an everlasting thanks giving’s to ALLAH ALMIGHTY for HIS special blessings and honor to the shaheed’s  parents and family members.

“Know that you are not alone

The whole nation shares your tears

Some for a year or two

and some for all their years”

 

contributed by:

Lt Col (retd) Muhammad Afzal

e.mail : This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

 

 

 

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