Faizan left for school, never to return

ALTATAF BABA

Baramulla July 18: In this north Kashmir district, schools, like other parts of the Valley opened on Saturday after days of unrest. But the reopening, at the end of the day, meant closure of school doors for Faizan Ahmad Buhroo, forever. A student of class 7th, Faizan was allegedly drowned by cops of Special Operations Group on Saturday after they chased a group of protesters near Azadgunj bridge here. Nothing is able to console the parents of Faizan. “When Faizan left for school, I told him that I will accompany him. I was with him all the way from our residence to his school. But I never knew that I would be holding his hand for the last time,” said Fareeda, Faizan’s mother. As Fareeda beats her chest in pain, scores of women try to console her. “Now Faizan would not allow me to accompany him to school saying he was a grown up child. But I would be worried about his safety till he returned home from school,” she said. Faizan’s father, Rafeeq Ahmad, who is a blacksmith, is not ready to accept that his son was no more. “I was doing hard labour to too my child pursuing better education. I could not study after 10th class, but it was my desire to see Faizan study and excel. But tragedy struck us. We shall never come to terms with this reality,” Ahmad said. Faizan lived at Jalal Sahib in Varmul. He was studying in Guru Nanak School.