Saturday, April 18, 2015

KHALIDA ZAFAR

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33.                KHALIDA ZAFAR

Khalida was a year senior to me in M.A. English class in Gordon College , Rawalpindi For a long time , I thought that Javed Zafar , the former Secretary of Environment , and she were brother and sister because of their common surname . She passed her Masters securing very good marks . In 1968 , she appeared in the CSS competion . During the three days of Psychological tests , we became closer .Until then , our relations were of mutual respect . One rarely finds a woman who has these three things ; brains , beauty and virtue . Often one or two things are missing . But Khalida had a combination of these three things . She was in my group for the Psychological tests and interview . There was a young man ,,Muzaffar Abbas, a Ravian , in this group . All the while , he was seen talking to her and other girl , whose name I have forgotten but the class girl of Khalida , at all times . He was trying to impress the two girls . Khalida was given the Postal Service . The second girl was also appointed in the Postal Service .But in an inferior position .
After one year’s training , we went our own ways . After four years , I learnt that Khalida had been posted as an Assistant Superintendent of Posts in Islamabad . To my good fortune , an American , George Rusinak , an employee of the US AID, came to see me in my office . Seeing my behaviour , he mentioned a problem which he had with the GPO, Islamabad . I , at once , telephoned Khalida . She told me that I should send George over to her and she would do the best she could . Later on , she was posted to Peshawar .

One week or , perhaps ten days , while coming by air to meet her family in Rawalpindi ,she tried to get up to alight from the plane she could not do so . She was brought by stretcher to the airport and back home by an ambulance .

The next morning , Khalida felt better . But she asked her mother to accompany to the RGH , Rawalpindi saying that she wanted to consult a doctor and undergo a medical check up . The doctor told her that she was
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suffering from was weakness prescribed some injections . After one shot was given , she collapsed and went into a coma . From that coma , she never recovered . After one week , she died . Ifelt very sorry for her and her family . I went to see her family and met her older brother . The doctor claimed that the compounder was wrong and vice versa . But one innocent life was lost through negligence . Later it turned be that the expiry date of the injection passed .

Despite the fact that three decades have passed after this unhappy event , Even now whenever I remember that  virtuous young lady and I say  a silent prayer  in her honour . She was very pure.

May Allah Bless Khalida .


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