At least 14 people, including two senior police officials of Lahore police — DIG Captain (r) Ahmed Mobin and SSP Zahid Mehmood Gondal — were killed in a suicide attack on February 13, 2017, at Lahore’s Charing Cross Chowk while performing their duties.
Mobin’s daughter Hiba Mobin took to Facebook on the occasion of the first anniversary of the Charing Cross Chowk tragedy and penned a heartfelt note that is sure to break your heart.
“I write this with a very heavy heart and I know writing it down won’t make things easier or lessen the pain, but I write today because it’s been a year since you left us Baba. Things are better, now that it’s been a year. Everyone at home is good. Abeera and I are doing good and Dua’s the same old hyper kid running around the house looking for excuses to mess with everyone. Taha’s growing and becoming more like you day by day; the way he talks, gets angry when things don’t go his way, the way he draws all the attention to himself. We see you in him everyday. He misses you. He thinks you’re at work and sometimes says that you’ve become a star in the sky. Dado’s broken and I don’t expect her to get better anytime soon. You were her only son. She talks about you all the time and she’s put up a big picture of you in her room. It makes her feel like you’re still there. Mama’s devastated but she can’t show it. She has us to think about and emotionally support Dado as well. I know she cries a lot at night. She’s good at hiding though. She’s the one keeping us all together just like you used to. She’s turned into this new person; broken but strong. Everyone misses you and why wouldn’t they. You had such an active role in everyone’s life”, Hiba pens down.
Speaking about the fear that is associated with the unpredictable nature of a police officer’s work she states,”It was very hard for me as a child to see you leave for work. I remember watching you wear your uniform and carry that hideous stick of yours and bid everyone goodbye. I don’t know why but I was always scared; scared that you might not come back. I don’t know why i always used to think that something bad might happen to you. But it didn’t. For a very long time, it didn’t. This wasn’t the first time you were on duty which wasn’t even yours to perform. There were so many wardens around that place who could’ve negotiated with the people protesting and convinced them to clear the roads. You chose to be there. You chose to be different. You chose to do whatever you could do to make everyone’s life easier. I still remember the Manawan Attack. I remember praying for you to safely come back home. You did. I was so happy to see you. On several occasions when I thought you might not show up, you managed to come back. So it seemed impossible to me when I found out that you were never coming back home. It’s sad that I lost my father. It’s sad that I won’t have you around to see me succeed. It’s sad that I won’t ever see you again but you saved so many other lives the day you embraced Shahadat. It broke me when I realised you’re no more. But knowing that you saved so many other children from becoming orphans; saving them from the difficult time I had to go through, gave me strength. It’s what keeps me going I promise, the fact that so many children have their fathers because you were brave enough to sacrifice your life in order to save their’s”.
The full Facebook post can be viewed below:
