"The Rebel"

“MAE CHI PAN'NIS MUJAHIDA'S BUTH WUCHUN,MUOUN KARIN"  

 The mother of this 23 year old man would have hardly known what was the fate of her son, when he returned home on a chilly night after he joined the Resistance struggle. She welcomed her son warmly as he was seeing home after three months. Talking to her son, after a time of what Calendar called three months, it was a decade for her, a decade of isolation from her beloved son. She was a witness to the fact and had seen her son covering all the phases from an infant who lived for fun to a fiery man who dared tyrants. That night they chit chatted about relatives and the happenings Farooq had failed to notice.   Jana Begum later served food to her sons. 

She cooked "marcz wangan Korma' for him. During the dinner also the stiff conversation never bunged up and Mushtaq never found any time to speak “Manhood” to this jingoistic rebel.  Finally both the parties mutually muted and now it was the time to sleep.

 His brother insisted to sleep besides him under the same weighty blanket, initially farooq refused but then he was a lovely brother. Mushtaq consistently gazed at his brothers' face whilst he narrated the blazing brave stories, how heroically they passed through the daunting forests, how they did "ACTION", He swiftly educated him to unlock the magazine of his 47. He told him about the secluded lands that Mushtaq had never heard of, those alien places which remained isolated due to minute connectivity those days. They conversed about the Rebellion groups; they discussed the ONLY solution to Kashmir issue. They talked and talked till both of them fell asleep.   

It was about 1:30, the dim of the night transmitted a still message, the stars searing dull, the stillness of the Chinar tree in the sod, the mumble of the leaves, then a distant bark with the echoing hoot of the owl on the wood of a the willow tree. It was a message they opt to skip, their delight, the chill of that night being the cause. Piercing so many delectable tones was a devilish distant noise which seemed to just grow by every second. Suddenly there was a deafening Horn, Jana Begum, Farooq and Mushtaq, arousing them all.  Mushtaq looked through a broken glass to find an armoured vehicle earthed outside their place as the hunt was on. He saw heavy contingents of Army instantly rounding their house and within seconds the dark approaching figures were inside the house to get embarrassed, Farooq was not there. He gave a slip to the Army.Thanks to tightly packed houses in main town of Islamabad. 

In the coming months his mother grew feeble and ailing, Lying on that hospital bed she was optimistic of her sons visit to his ailing mother, but all in vain. Farooq reluctantly helpless grew in anxiety to get a glimpse of the lady whom he admired the most, his mother. So did his mother. 

Those days Rebels used to have a eminent custom to know about the last wishes of their group mates before they go for an action. One among them was, Munna Shair who was martyred later said " I know i will not see the dawn of Freedom, But i pray, May allah give me one moment of life on that day and make me rise from my grave".  Farooq Ahmed though unlike others among whom some talked about the concept of religion, whilst most of them talked about Liberty and Salvation wished to see his ailing mother who was there bed sick in the hospital.

Farooq Ahmed Khan alias Pup Dar prayed early in the morning as one of his mate recalls and later that day, Farooq Ahmed Khan was trapped in a house at S.K colony with two more rebels including the narrator of his story. He gave a safe passage to his company but choose to fight the occupants, who have subjected us to worst violations and torture on our own land. After Indian forces timidly presumed more than 10 men to be inside the house, they burnt the house down, After the encounter was over, the major of the Indian Army was amazed to find one man had been firing at ten different windows with ten Guns.  His Mother sick in the bed got the news only to fall unconscious. She did wake up at home only to find herself being stopped by Local women to see her own Son. And then she pleaded, She be allowed, she wants to kiss the forehead of her martyred Son, but least did she know that her son was burnt to ashes. Wails followed, a month later, his brother Mushtaq Ahmed Khan was also martyred.  "

He did whisper something in my ear, but i cannot share the same" the narrator weeps out. Farooq Ahmed Khan alias Pup Dar was martyred in 1989 by Indian Army at S.k Colony, Islamabad.