Son of Zaz Muhammad & Yaghi Gul H/O Momina Bibi

Siblings: Muhammad Sharif, Abdur Rauf, Bushra Bibi, Khayal Muhammad, Muhammad Zahid.

Zahir Shah began working at the Army Public School a year before the Peshawar massacre. He served the school devotedly and would advise students to study hard when he interacted with them. His nephew Shafqat Sharif says Zahir had studied up to F.A. and couldn’t carry on due to financial problems faced by the family.

Zahir got married nearly 12 years ago and didn’t have any children but loved his nephews and nieces as his own kids. He was particularly close to his 4-year-old nephew Waqas and would look after him as his own child.

Although Zahir didn’t earn much, he was always mindful of the needs of his family and always tried to get other, better jobs.

Zahir enjoyed reading books. His nephew remembers how Zahir would select books from his shelf and read them. He also had a sound knowledge of the English language and would help his nephews and nieces in assignments.

A man who was content with the simple things in life, Zahir would spend much of his time watching the news and talking to members of his family. His nephew remembers him as a soft-spoken man with a kind heart.

144STORIES: Visit the Army Public School Memorial

Editorial

Updated 04 Aug, 2026

Swat bombing

IT is a bitter irony that terrorists struck a protest against violence in Swat on Sunday, causing at least 17...
04 Aug, 2026

Tariff blow

FOR an export sector already squeezed by high production costs, the additional 10pc tariff on top of the existing...
04 Aug, 2026

Perilous peaks

THE deaths of 10 climbers in an avalanche on Broad Peak is a sad reminder of the perils that many mountaineers face...
Updated 03 Aug, 2026

Farewell to arms?

PALESTINIAN resistance group Hamas recently made a major concession by agreeing to give up its weapons. It should be...
03 Aug, 2026

Unplanned future

A PROJECTION that Pakistan’s population could reach 400m by 2040 should not be treated as another dramatic number...
03 Aug, 2026

No more torture

EVEN the best laws on the books are worth little unless the state shows the willingness to enforce them. This is...