Silencing the Voice of the Voiceless
Saleem Javed, Dawn, January 12, 2013
His parents named him Irfan Ali but he added ‘Khudi’ to it later on. He strongly believed in Iqbal’s ‘Khudi ko kar buland itna kay hurr taqdeer se pehlay … khuda banday se khud puchay bata teri raza kya hai’.
Ali had an intense devotion to education, which is why he was hugely disappointed when he, like many of his fellow citizens, was unable to complete his schooling due to the worsening security situation in Balochistan, particularly his home city – Quetta. His dream of becoming a social psychologist was never realised.
Not one to give up, he found the next best way to quench his thirst for knowledge: engaging with people from various ethnicities and religions. He would try and study every person he met, interacting with them to better understand their lives, their struggles. The honest effort he made in getting to know someone made him approachable and trustworthy.
Ali never remained a mere spectator to what was happening in his country, his province and particularly, his home city where members of his community were being unabatedly slaughtered. His voice rang loud and clear; mobilising the youth, and organising seminars and conferences to address the deteriorating human rights situations in Balochistan.
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Related - Background:
The travails of the Hazara community - Express Tribune, Jan 13, 2013
Why Hazara? - Dawn, Jan 13, 2013
Protests spread in Pakistan over Shiite killings - Christian Science Monitor, Jan 13, 2013
Imran expresses solidarity with Hazara community, supports their demands - The Nation, Jan 13, 2013
Crying for the light - Ghazi Salahuddin, The News, January 13, 2013
Pakistan Reels With Violence Against Shiites, New York Times, December 3, 2012‘Hazara killings a systematic genocide’ - Express Tribune, April 29, 2012
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