Shia Genocide: How the times have changed – Ayaz Saleem

In those days, Baqir Mousavi and Asim used to roam on the same motorbike.

The good news was that everyone was praying in the same mosque but the atmosphere was changing from a few days. The effect of Jhang was taking place. After Isaar Qasmi was killed, baqir’s home was attacked and his father was shot; everyone was very depressed.

A few days later, Baqir was on his way to drop his younger sister and brother off at school when two masked men from behind shot him in the back with two bullets. The bullet passed through the hand of the six-year-old boy and entered Baqir’s body and he survived.

This was a time when such incidents were continuously happening (and I now fully know why they were happening). Well, the whole family moved to Lahore and we kept remembering our friend.

Baqir was a handsome man; he was having an affair and when he start listening to the song “listen Rubia I fell in love with you” from the movie “Mard”. We came to know that the girl’s name was Ruby.

One day someone told me that Baqir Mousavi had killed someone and he had fled the country. I couldn’t believe it, not yet. He also drew the line of murder on his hands.

Time flies yet again and I was SSP Investigation Lahore in 2015. My eldest son had been suffering from fever since evening. At five o’clock in the morning I took him to the Children’s Emergency of Hameed Latif Hospital.

A Couple was there, they brought their two- or three-month-old baby; the baby had a high fever and they were both speaking in an unfamiliar language; they were also looking anxious; ۔ I don’t know why my eyes fell on the boy’s hand and there were operation marks on his thumb as if it was an old wound.

“Are you Baqir’s brother?”

The boy got worried and asked me who you are. I said I am Ayaz, his friend.

He hugged me tightly and said how did you recognize me; I said with the same hand that saved Baqir’s life after Allah.

I asked where Baqir was. He told me that he was out of the country.

I asked, “Where is your sister?” he told me, “America.”

How life tests you, How round the world is. We come and stand on the same paths again, wait and then walk away.