LAHORE: “1-2-5 is out.” Chief Traffic Officer (CTO) retired Captain Ahmad Mobin’s colleagues would use this phrase each time he left the office to patrol the roads of Lahore.

Codenamed “1-2-5” by his subordinates, Mr Mobin was respected in the police force for his quick wit and hard work.

“When we would get this message on our Wardens WhatsApp group, we knew it was time to be vigilant as the boss is out in the field,” says traffic warden Asif who has served in Lahore since 2006.

Mr Mobin was tragically killed on Monday in a suicide attack near the Punjab Assembly during a protest by chemists. He was there to negotiate with protesters when the bomber struck and killed him, SSP Zahid Gondal, four other personnel and seven people.

After serving as CTO from 2010 to 2012, Mr Mobin was appointed again to the post in Nov 2016 — less than three months before his untimely death. Traffic wardens who worked under him say he was strict about discipline.

“He meant business. He never liked anyone being tardy or not working properly. So when we heard that he is coming back again as our boss we knew that there is no more compromising on the quality of work,” said Mr Asif.

Many wardens who had worked with him in the past were happy about his appointment. “He would go out of his way for his colleagues, particularly if it was an emergency, and took a stand for us,” he said.

“Wardens were previously asked to work extra hours or come on their days off during VIP movement, but not with Captain Mobin as boss. He didn’t overburden us,” Mr Asif said.

Another warden recalls that Mr Mobin was so dedicated that he would get off his vehicle and manage traffic himself when roads were too congested.

“We have been beaten up by people and lawyers. We have been even manhandled by policemen,” says traffic warden Awais Khan, who was deployed on Mall Road on the day of the blast. “But we knew that with this man in charge there is someone who will always look after us — like a father. Almost everyone had his personal number, and it was given by him so that we could call him directly.”

An elderly colleague of Mr Mobin broke down when he was approached. “We are shocked and devastated. We cannot believe that he is no longer with us. There is no fear in us after the blast… just utter sadness and nothing else,” he said, with tears in his eyes.

Mr Asif said that while traffic wardens are not allowed to crack jokes or discuss personal matters on their wireless phones during duty hours, they broke the protocol the day after Captain Mobin’s killing.

“Our job is such that all of the wardens are deployed across the city and we can only communicate through wireless phones as a group. All day we tried consoling each other. We talked about what an exemplary man Captain Mobin was,” Mr Asif said. “It was difficult for us to work. We were even working on the night he was killed so it was really tough on us.”

“The last message we heard on the wireless from one of our colleagues that day was “1-2-5 is out”. Little did we know that this time he had left the world for good.”

Published in Dawn February 16th, 2017