Pakistani Shia martyr Aitizaz Hasan to be honoured with “medal of bravery”

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - It was a cloudy cold morning in January when Aitzaz Hasan, 15, was chatting with his class fellows at the entrance of his school in Ibrahimzai area, a Shiite-dominated locality in Hangu district, located some 70 kilometers southwest of Peshawar.All of a sudden, he spotted a young boy approaching the school gate in a suspicious manner.“We saw him (Aitzaz) yelling at the suicide bomber and rushing towards him. We all shouted and asked him to come back but he didn’t listen to us,” Mustafa Hussein Shah, a school student and a friend of Aitzaz said.According to Mustafa, the suicide bomber was about to enter the school where some 2000 students were there, when he was tackled by Aitzaz.“The suicide bomber got puzzled when he saw a boy rushing towards him. As soon as Aitzaz grabbed him (suicide bomber), he got rid of his (Aitzaz) grip and started running towards the school gate,” Mustafa recalled.Aitzaz, did not give up, ran after the suicide bomber who after finding no other choice, blew himself up, he added.“I saw Aitzaz lying on the ground with lower portion of his body soaked in blood. His face remained unhurt,” he maintained.“He is our hero. He has saved not only our lives but hundreds of other lives who might have been lost if the suicide bomber managed to enter the school,” Ghulam Hussein, another student and a friend of Aitzaz told OnIslam.net.Sharing his memories with Aitzaz, Hussein called him a dear friend and fellow.“He would not speak much, although he was not unfriendly. He was a calm listener. He would enjoy jokes we cracked during leisure hours,” Hussein recalled.Aitzaz’s fellows appear to be surprised over the amount of valor shown by their friend.“We could never expect this valiant act from him. He never appeared to us like that,” Hussein remarked.“He have sacrificed his today for ours tomorrow,” he maintained.Not SectarianThough Aitzaz was a Shiite, same as most of his class fellows, it is believed that the suicide attack on the school has no connection with the sectarian tension in the South Asian Muslim country.“It had nothing to do with Shiite-Sunni issue. It was purely a terrorism act aimed at dividing Muslims on sectarian basis,” Mustafa Shah opined.Though, he said, the attack was on a school where almost 99 per cent students follow the Shiite school of thought, however, “we totally reject the notion that Sunnis are involved in that”.“It’s the act of anti-Islam elements who want to divide us in the name of sects,” Mustafa said.“But, we want to make it clear that we do not harbor any bitterness for Sunnis following this heinous incident. Some misguided elements are behind such incidents but they are in minority.”Mujtaba Hasan, the brother of Aitzaz, agrees.“Those who want to divide us in the name of Shiite and Sunnis, beware, we will not let you succeed,” he told OnIslam.net.Sectarian violence has had deep roots in Pakistan where thousands of people have been killed in bomb blasts, suicide bombings and targeted killings of Shiites and Sunnis for last over three decades.Sectarian tension in Pakistan aroused after Islamic revolution in Shiite Iran in 1979.Pakistan is a Sunni majority country, where Shiites make up 10 per cent of 180 million populations. Sunnis constitute 85 per cent of the total population.HonoredPakistani government has decided to honor its brave son, Aitzaz Hasan, 15, a grade 9 student, with “medal of bravery” (Sitara-e-Shujaat) for saving hundreds of lives while tackling the suicide bomber.Prime Minister (Nawaz Sharif) has sent an advice to the President for official approval in this regard, a senior official at the prime minister house confirmed.Aitzaz’s class fellows demand Pakistan’s highest award ‘Nishan-e-Haider’, "Emblem of Haider, where Haider is the epithet of Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) and means Lion", for their colleague who has saved their lives.However, it is clear that Aitzaz does not qualify for this award as it is only meant for armed forces personnel who show extraordinary courage and valor against the enemy.“Medal does not count for you. The real medal for us is the smile on the faces of hundreds of mothers whose sons have been saved by Aitzaz by sacrificing his life,” Mujtaba said.Aitzaz’s elder brother Mujtaba, who flew from United Arab Emirates to attend the funeral ceremony, feels proud of his brother.“No doubt, my heart is full of sorrow and grief. But when I think of hundreds of those parents who might have to feel the same pain if the suicide bomber managed to enter the school, I feel proud of my brother,” an emotional Mujtaba told OnIslam.net.Mujtaba was understandably shocked when his father informed him about the incident.“I could not understand what my father was saying. It was like a bomb shell fell on my head,” he recalled.”I was shocked and completely lost. I could not even say a single word for a minute when my father was telling me about Aitzaz’s martyrdom”.“Everything belongs to Allah, and has to return to Almighty. Aitzaz is a martyr, and he will live alive forever,” Mujtaba said while fighting back his tears./149