Blinded by blast, ex-cop longs for a glimpse of children’s faces

#Voice of War Victims

KHOST CITY (Pajhwok): Staff Sergeant Mohammad Nazir, a policeman who lost his eyes in a bomb attack by militants, blasts the government for ignoring him following his incapacitation.

A resident of the Ismailkhel Mandozai district of southeastern Khost province, his eyes and other body parts were seriously wounded in an explosion on the first day of Eid-ul-Adha in 2012.

In an exclusive interview with Pajhwok Afghan News, Nazir shared some of his bitter memories in the wake of the crippling incident.

During his three-year job in the police force, the man tried his level best to serve his countrymen. One fateful day, he was on a patrol along with his colleagues in Gurbuz district.

He saw a cat tied with a rope. “I moved forward and untied the poor animal. Then I observed a barrel full of explosives. I shouted there is a mine. Having thrust myself in a stream, I sustained injuries.”

Nazir asked his commander for leave just one day before the blast. But the commander refused to grant his request. He was provided medical treatment at Bagram hospital, but lost both his eyes.

Before joining the police, he had served in the Afghan National Army (ANA), Nazir recalled. He had been involved in some fierce clashes with the Taliban.

The only breadwinner for his family, Nazir said his household had been faced with severe economic problems after he was deprived of his eyes. “I have seven children, old parents, a brother and two sisters.”

With his eyes, he could see his relatives and loved ones. “Now I can no longer see them, but the faces of my family members remain etched on my mind.

“Now that my children have grown up, their faces must have changed and I wish could see them -- although fleetingly.”

His younger is an ANA employee, but his salary is not enough to meet family needs. Like others injured in the explosion, the former police officer received 50,000 afghanis in recompense.

“One day, Khost police officials were getting their salaries. A friend telephoned me to come over. When I reached the bank, they donated me some money, which helped my family a great deal.”

The incapacitated man is given food items by residents of the neighbourhood, but his family needs could not be met. In a choked voice, the ex-staff sergeant spoke of his inability to support his family.

“I have sold my wife’s jewellery, cow and other belongings. No one is ready lend me money, as people thank I cannot return their loans.”

Nazir is proud of whatever he has done for the glory of his homeland. But he lambasted the government for forgetting the families of martyred and wounded security officials.

He asked the government and charity organisations to reach out to him and the helpless families of the security personnel, who were killed or wounded in the line of duty.

nh/mud