GHALANAI: Relatives of the victims of Sept 16 suicide blast in Payee Khan village of Ambar tehsil are still facing trauma and want the government to give jobs to one person each of the affected families as announced by the authorities following the attack.

“Payee Khan Mosque suicide blast ruined my whole family on Sept 16, 2016. My four sons, Naeem Khan, 18, Wahab Khan, 22, Shahab, 14, and Mushtaq Khan, 12, were killed in the blast. My elder son, Wahab Khan, had married just two months ago,” said seventy-year-old Rana Khan. He said that his wife also died after the tragedy.

Talking to this correspondent, he said that Naeem Khan used to work in Rawalpindi and had come to the village on vacation to celebrate Eid with the family, but fell victim to the blast.

“Now I am the lone breadwinner of my family because my father is old,” said Riaz Khan, the elder son of Rana Khan. Mr Riaz said that he had been working in Rawalpindi to earn livelihood for his family living in a mud house in Payee Khan village of Mohmand Agency.

Bas Khan, 80, whose son was also killed in the incident, said that they were still in grief.

He said that he had borrowed Rs300,000 for treatment of his wife and after getting the compensation amount he gave it to the lender.

“Officials of the local administration had promised after the blast that they would sanction special vacancies and appoint one person each from the affected families, but action in this regard is still awaited, ” Mr Khan said.

Governor Iqbal Zafar Jhagra had visited Ambar and delivered compensation of Rs400,000 to each of the families losing a member and Rs150,000 each to the injured.

He had also announced that a government job would be given to the heir of each of the deceased besides free medical treatment to the injured.

Naveed Akbar, assistant political agent of Lower Mohmand, told this correspondent that all the compensation was paid to the grieving families and the local administration was trying to create special vacancies for those families who had lost their male members in the blast.

He said that the local administration had identified such families and also referred their cases to the Zakat Department and Pakistan Baitul Mal for possible help.

Published in Dawn, February 6th, 2017