‘No one aided us after my police son’s martyrdom’

PUL-I-ALAM (Pajhwok): The elderly father of a policeman, who died in a 2014 Taliban suicide attack in central Logar province, says the ‘martyrdom booklet’ of his son is yet to be prepared.

The suicide attack was carried out Feb 20, 2014 on the police headquarters in Pul-i-Alam, the provincial capital. Fifteen people, including policemen, were killed in the attack.

The blast also snatched the eldest son of Syed Sher Ahmad, a 76-year-old resident of Logar province. The father said his son was the only breadwinner for the family.

Speaking to Pajhwok Afghan News during an interview, Ahmad said: “We would always wait for him that he would come home after getting salary and would bring what we need.”

The father said since the death of his son, they had been leading a miserable life. A resident of Kalingar area of Pul-i-Alam, Ahmad said his son, Shafiqullah, was a trainer at the police training academy.

Shafiqullah left behind his wife and three children, including two daughters. Sher Ahmad said he was old and could not support the orphaned children.

The father burst into tears as he recalled the death of his son. “He was young and we endured many hardships seeing him grow up and get education. He would perform his duty with honesty and passion to ea a legitimate living for the family, but the barbaric forces claimed his life.”

The day Shafiqullah died. “That moing he left home for job happily. It was mid-day when we were informed about his death and a few hours later his mutilated body arrived home in coffin,” recalled Sher Ahmad.

The father said his son died for the country and the people, but after his death no govement official or organisation had inquired after their situation.

“I am an old person and cannot support the 10-member family including the children and widowed wife of my son. I don’t own any land and have no income and cannot do a job.”

The father complained the govement used its workers like fuel as when they were alive, there were required and once dead, they were forgotten.

He said besides his son, his other family members had also been killed during the past four years, but govement officials even did not attend funeral prayers.

“A few members of our family who had police jobs had been killed, I can no longer tolerate such painful events. God should take my life so I can get rid of this sorrowful life.”

He said he had been busy over the past 14 months visiting govement offices to get completed his son’s martyrdom booklet.

He said he used to visit daily a govement office and every time he was cheated and there were injustices everywhere.

Sher Ahmad urged the govement to assist him and all families whose police sons had been killed.

Logar goveor’s spokesman Salim Saleh told Pajhwok Afghan News that families of those killed in terrorist attacks were given 100,000 afghanis each under ‘presidential code 93.’ But he said it was an exclusive process and took some time to complete.

The official said the provincial administration lacked resources to provide additional assistance to such families.

ma