Revenge

By: Jawad Iqbal Jawad

Naseer had left the village 25 years ago because he could not face the insult for not taking revenge of his wife, killed by his neighbour, Arif.

He was a young stout and famous for arm wrestling. But he bid farewell to his stong arms when they were needed to take revenge of his wife. He was a head clerck in a government department and was living in the city for his job. But his wife and children were at village.

She was innocent, completely innocent and this is Arif who made a rape attempt on her and when she defended herself by hitting him with an axe he got injured. His wounds made him more brutal. He had a pistol with him and fired bullets on her. She fell down and never got up again.

She was mother of 5 children and custodian of whatever Naseer earned and owned.

Naseer had nothing to move traditional police for any arrest and proceeding in that murder case.

By getting the news of a woman’s murder police inspector, along with his team came to the village and made his report. He asked a number of questions to Naseer about his wife and their mutual relations. It was all irrelevant to the actual incident. But this is the traditional way of handling cases by the local police. Police was only there to give a feel of state rit. Otherwise there was no role of police there. They stand on the side where they get a good portion of what they need to feed them and their higher ones. Only those who could go for long fights and enemity would avenge their loved ones.

Naseer had 5 children to be brought up and he could not leave them entirely alone for avenging their mother.

After a couple of months Arif himself went to the police station. Nobody in the village was ready to be the vitness of that brutality, though that dark incident occurred on a bright day. Everyone tried to save his skin, though Arif was not a gangster. He was just a rascal, but the villagers were not ready to turn his family against them.

Since Naseer was not in position to COOPERATE with police It was a week case He left his job in the city and decided to stay with his children because, then, they were totally unguarded and unattended.

In the village, some people tried to instigate Naseer for revenge and some others taunted on his indifference. Those who were not ready to stand with him in legal case declared him a coward and unfaithful with his wife who, throughout her life, served him and his household.

Naseer was completely silent as if he were deaf about all this happening around him and about him.

He had a big piece of land about 7 Km away from the village. He sold his house in the village and went to his land where he built a small house and set in growing vegetables there.

For a few times when he visited his village he was insulted by the people and he found Arif with a deveilish victory smile on his face.

He was looking after his children and for them his land. It was difficult for him to manage their education in that part of countryside. When he saw that he was able to afford their education in the city he put them into boardings and continued his hard work at his land.

Soon he developed a proper vegetable farm with livestock there. Arif diddn’t spare him, even here. He, with the help of local police for that he would work as a tout made problems for him. Naseer rebounced the game. He also started giving favours to the police. And police favoured all those who would present gifts to them. A police hawaldar , who would serve in police stations of that area as muharrar or clerk became friend of Naseer. For Naseer would send vegetables and fruit to his house on regular basis. It was Hawaldar Ameen’s characteristics that he would change his sympathies with the conditions of gifts he received from local people.

It was Arif’s art to trap people for police and, sometimes, he managed much heavier preys for Hawaldar Ameen and he, for no other reason, gave tough time to Naseer, putting aside all that he received from him. It was not a strange attitude of police for Naseer. As usual he tolerated it and let the approving days come.

It took almost 25 years to make his children settled by education and their marriages. For this is the ultimate thing envisaged and planned by traditional Pakistani parents and, as single parent, he made an example in this regard.

His children wanted him to shift to the city with them and leave his land which was turned into a big farm house, now. But Naseer was not ready to go to the city by abandoning his own peace of earth.

Naseer had reached his 70 when this incident occurred. It was a summer eve when he, in his usual cool and calm style visited his village. He went there after 20 years approximately. He reached the centre of the village where people would sit in the evening. A good number of people was there. Though, some of them who got indifferent rather hostile with him had passed away, yet the majority of them was alive at that time. A few of them shook hand with him, but his identical indifference was there with him. He used short sentences in response to their greetings.

Arif was in Saji Barber’s shop. Noticing the appearance of of Naseer he came out of Saji’s shop. He, by a considerable distance, stopped and satirically greeted Naseer.

“ The whole village was waiting for you for a long time. Old Maasi Begaan and Chacha Rehmat were eager to see you again, but the time took them away. You can meet with them in the grave yard”.

Naseer uncovered his gun which he was hiding in his lungi on his shoulder. He shouted at Arif for his cruelties and cautioned the village men to stay away. Everybody at the spot was stunned and could not move. There was a strange fear felt by all of them.

Naseer was recalling and reminding all that done by Arif to him.

Arif was looking at him stone-eyed and with trembling body. Naseer fired at his legs and he fell down. He was crying for help. But Arif shouted and warned them to stay away. Village men entertained him with the same apathy Naseer had already received by them during last 25 years. Arif’s legs were bleeding and he got another shot on his right thy. He again screemed with pain. But then his call for help gradually drowned into silence.

Arif’s mouth and eyes One by one the village men slipped away and only a few people were left and they were in nearby shops. Two hours passed and it was dusk, now. were wide open

Arif’s younger brother, Safdar who got his right leg broken in an accident was locked up by his wife when the news broke in the village. And he was happy to be secured in that way. He had a good business of livestock in the village and was living a prosperous life. He didn’t want to be killed for his brother’s sake. Some elderly men went to his house and convinced his wife to let him go to police station for report.

Safdar went to Hawaldar Amin and told him about the incident. Hawaldar Amin accompanied Safdar to the village. On the way he aroused sympathy and love in Safdar’s heart for his dead brother. Safdar got ready to give 50 thousand rupees to Hawaldar Ameen to snatch Arif’s dead body from Naseer. Actually Amin dramatized the whole situation to get money from Safdar.

By taking fifty thousand rupees from Arif’s brother he went to the place where Naseer was sitting with Arif’s dead body. He asked Naseer to leave the dead body.

Naseer cautioned him as well. But he was taking privilege of being his friend. Actually he was going near Naseer to snatch his weapon and overcome him. He was about to achieve his goal and people heard two more shots. Hawaldar Ameen was also dead with his old crony, Arif. The money he took from Arif’s house was drenched with his blood.

The old Naseer left both bodies there and went to police station to hand over himself to the law. He took revenge of all he faced in last 25 years.

Related posts:

I have three Google Alerts set up and delivered to my mailbox every day to keep up to date. They track and report on news stories mentioning the following: It’s sort of fun to read about what’s going…

Beyond serving as a starting point for consumer applications, ARKit will allow many companies to develop their own versions as well. Industries such as real estate and retail will elicit developers…

The US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) facilitated a high-level US delegation to Bangalore led by Vikram Singh, Senior Advisor, Defense and Aerospace at USISPF and Former Deputy Assistant…