Teen ‘Wrestler’ Takes Down a Suicide Bomber

By Javed Aziz Khan –

In Hangu, a boy known for his strong build and wrestling abilities challenged a terrorist and made the ultimate sacrifice for his school and his friends. In a 36-second video, two young boys are trying to overpower each other while swimming in a small canal in the southern district of Hangu. A boy in a yellow shirt tries his best to knock his opponent down, but Aitzaz Hassan wasted no time in overpowering him in the water. His friends nicknamed him Wrestler, for being slightly plump.

He tried his wrestling skills for the last time on 6th January, while saving his school and hundreds of his friends.

“He was a witty guy. Once, during a trip he told me that if he encountered a suicide bomber, he would hold him and knock him down. I laughed and told him he was well-built that a suicide bomber would hardly harm him,” recalls Ijlal, a tenth-grade student at the government high school in Ibrahimzai, Hangu and a friend of the ninth-grader Aitzaz.

Eyewitnesses to his story of heroism recall how Aitzaz, along with a couple of other students, was late to arrive at the school that morning.

“Meanwhile, a young man clad in a school uniform and with a bag in his hand arrived from the main road and asked about the direction of the school, saying he wanted to gain admission. It was then when I noticed that he was wearing a suicide jacket,” said an eyewitness, Muzahir, who went back towards the school and shouted to alert nearby Aitzaz about the dangerous individual now approaching the school.

But instead of running away, Aitzaz intercepted the bomber and tried to overpower him. “The bomber was left with no other option but to detonate explosives around his vest,”said a schoolmate of the hero. Eyewitnesses made it clear that, despite knowing that the man was a suicide bomber, Aitzaz refused to allow him to target his school and classmates.

“People are coming to express their sympathies, but I told them to congratulate me for what my son has done for his nation and country. He is a martyr, and I have told my wife and all of my family not to cry over his sacrifice,” says Mujahid Ali, father of the teen hero, who had to rush from the UAE after he was informed by his younger brother about the death of his son. Mujahid said he would be ready to sacrifice another of his sons for the good of the nation.

Hangu, where the incident happened, borders the troubled tribal belt with the Orakzai, Kurram, Khyber and North Waziristan agencies located close by. It also has a history of sectarian clashes between Sunni and Shia communities. Though a number of schools were bombed here, it is rare for suicide bombers to target them.

Since the story of Aitzaz had so many similarities, the family received a call from Malala Yousafzai, another teen hero who narrowly escaped death after being attacked in Swat in 2012 for speaking out about the right to education for every child, Malala announced that a donation of Rs. 500,000 would be made to the family.

However, the story of the explosion was reported in newspapers the following day without any mention of the bravery of the young student, while TV channels didn’t bother to cover the incident at all.

The response from the federal and provincial governments was similar, until the issue became widely discussed through social media. Some of the top journalists and anchors of the country, as well as lawyers and civil society activists launched a campaign to tell the world about the extraordinary the sacrifice of Aitzaz.

Many lamented the governments of the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz in the centre, and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for not acknowledging the sacrifice of the boy and his family.

“The greatest honour we can give Aitzaz is to hunt down all those who funded and enabled his death. Arrest them and convict them. We will not let the world forget the sacrfice of Aitzaz,” tweeted Quatrina Hussain, a top anchor and journalist.

The resident editor of the Express Tribune Iftikhar Firdaus, and senior lawyer of the Supreme Court of Pakistan Faheem Wali and many more added their voices to the coverage, insisting that the government gave due praise to the teen hero. “Sad that while young martyrs are hailed as heroes, the state has become comfortable honoring them but doing little to address the real prob [sic]”, said one of thousands of tweets.

“I don’t know of too many countries on earth where fearless teenagers take on suicide bombers & would-be assassins,” tweeted Salman Ahmad, the pop singer and philanthropist.

After such popular attention, the government began to address the issue. A contingent of the army – headed by Brigadeir Zaki– went ahead of any government official to present a salute at the grave of Aitzaz on behalf of the Chief of Army Staff, General Raheel Sharif. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif recommended Sitara-e-Shujaat for the hero, to be conferred on 23 March.

Chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, Imran Khan, was reportedly furious that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister, Pervez Khattak and his cabinet members did not respond quickly to the incident and pay a visit to the family. He announced that a trust would be set up to support the family of the slain teenager.The next day he announced the renaming of the school in Aitzaz’s honour, as well as Rs. 5 million compensation for his family.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Shaukatullah Khan visited the residence of Aitzaz’s family to pay tribute to the boy. Some ministers and advisors also made visits.

His friends have also visited the family to pay tribute to their wrestler-friend for saving their lives. They recite from the holy Quran, recall fond memories of Aitzaz and state that they too wish they could show such heroism

“He is our hero. I wish I could sacrifice my life like Aitzaz,” said a student of Ibrahimzai High School, which is soon to be renamed Aitzaz Hassan Shaheed High School. Another student recalled Aitzaz wanted to become a pilot or a soccer player.

“My brother was an ordinary student like many other normal youth. His death has made us proud,” said Mujtaba Hassan, the elder brother of Aitzaz. His father recalls he last saw Aitzaz on 22nd May2013, when leaving for the UAE. “He used to give me a missed call from his cell phone so we could chat on Skype or over the phone,” said Ali.

The spacious school building is now open as usual. Students are studying like they used to before 6th January. The ninth-grade students, however, have placed a portrait of Aitzaz on his chair, in the middle of the first row. None of students seem particularly scared, but their desire to do something positive for their country and each other, as their great friend did, has increased.

The writer is the former president of the Khyber Union of Journalists and can be contacted at [email protected] and followed on twitter @JavedAzizKhan