Translation By Ali Jan Maqsood
As usual, I came and slept in my hostel room after attending my classes. As I opened my eyes and woke up, the first message was of him… “Where? Come in canteen.” We usually sat in the university canteen, took tea and held debates. Therefore, I knew his message would definitely arrive by then. He had no other topics of discussion but always attached to Baloch and Balochistan: discussions on issues of students, causes as to why the students (of present) forgot their national duties and responsibilities and that why they did not own those problems. Whether the issues were of those or the issue of enforced disappearances of students and masses, the debate on protests in press clubs or problems of students of the varsity and the other educational crises, such deliberations described his debates.
He never spoke of himself, neither thought of his individualistic future that how and where he would be. Sometimes I felt like he had thoroughly overlooked himself that he himself had a life – that he himself had a future. To a little extent, I bit, human beings do think of their lives and future. As we can observe that every student has a dream and comes that he will achieve that of his goal. Every one of those students is running after that of their dream and is only limited to himself so that he may own a beautiful and peaceful future.
But he was a loving person. He had great affection with his language, land and nation. His love for each tree, every stone and mountain, and each village and town was exemplary – it was only a love.
O’ My beloved friend,
Are you aware that today we are again sitting at the same place in the same gathering? But you are not around: no one is pondering of the issues today. On our left, two students are sitting and saying that upon the disappearance of two students, other students have locked the varsity and our future is being destroyed. If you were here, I am sure you had answered them that you (those two students) were tensed for your own future, but out there two lives were going wasted.
Dear friend,
I therefore feel tensed and pity that why these students are so desirous for their good future and that why did not you only think of yourself? Didn’t you prefer happiness for yourself? Weren’t you keen for those merriment which the other students are running after? Yes, I only know that you were never wondering of yourself solely but about all these students. Because I still remember your last circle where you said, “Baloch students should understand their national duties.”
But my friend, today I want to unveil before you that it has been twenty three days since your ideological companions have burned the fires and are sitting in front of the main gate in the ice-pack nights of Shaal (Quetta) in -5° centigrade in your wait. They have demanded from the government that they would not leave unless their fellow was released. These boys (those two boys who were worried about their individualistic futures) may stand up and your fellows, too, may leave, but you…?
