Syed Ajmir Shah: A Frontier Knight

‘No good act of the Police gets attributed you know, people try and give credit to the Army and promote them..the story of the police is forgotten’ my friend said to me.

Syed Ajmir Shah

I was reminded of this the other day when I heard about the murder of thirty six year old  Syed Ajmir Shah, the SHO of Risalpur police station. He was finally killed by the Tehrik-e-Taliban in a suicide bomb attack. We as a people, are suspicious and cynical about the police, they have a reputation for being corrupt and easily bribed. Despite that in this time we have seen many brave men fight and die for their country. Largely unacknowledged and bravely soldiering on while others have fled. They remind us that there are those who would rather fight the lonely fight then to give up. Why is this important you might ask? Well as a man from Charsadda once said ‘Only a dead nation remembers its heroes when they die. Real nations respect them when they are alive.’

The reign of terror that Ajmir would eventually lose his life too,  began in earnest in December 2006,  with the brutal killing of DIG Bannu Abid Ali and then  in 2007 by DIG Peshawar Malik Saad . These two good mens murder in and around Peshawar itself were major blows to the police force. With attacks intensifying even more after the Lal Masjid operation, some in the police deserted, some quit and the 'clever' people ensured they were transferred out of Peshawar and still others used all available contacts to ensure they were not transferred to the blighted city. Ajmir Shahs path was different however, he was trained by his mentor FC Commandant Safwat Ghayur to infiltrate militant networks and break up their operations. The highlight of his work was his rescue of a kidnapped Doctor from the hands of the TTP.

It was in these dark days the 78,230 strong police force suffered attack after attack as is shown by this chart:

Years	Incidents	Policemen Killed	Policemen Injured	Suicide attacks on Police
2005	0	0	0	0
2006	3	1	3	1
2007	45	49	184	7
2008	90	126	247	9
2009	72	105	305	19
2010	25	51	96	8
2011*	25	85	207	5
Total	260	417	1042	49

 Source: SATP, *Datatill July 24, 2011

Then it was Ajmir Shahs mentor, Safwat Ghayurs, turn to be targeted; the brave man was killed in August 2010 in the heart of Peshawar. Finally it was Ajmirs turn; the young man only recently married was blown up a 19 year old suicide bomber and is now dead and buried. 

It is said before he died he texted his friend the following  in Pashto 'Ma Lewanai da khpala khawra da namoos pa khatir, hagha qarzoona oom ada kral chi rapori na woo' Loosely translated as ' in the name of honour I loved my motherland and I also have paid the price for those debts which I did not take'. Rest in peace Ajmir Shah, perhaps your death will remind us, to remember those who stand up and fight, while they live, and not wait to shower praise after their death.