Saad Aziz: The story of an educated terrorist

Now the question is: why has he become so violent? Does failure in love leave such an impact even on such well educated people? Where were his friends and family when he was jumping into this trench? Is it the worth being an educated person if anyone can come and brainwash you?

Education is not all about collecting a degree from a prestigious institute. Instead, it steers your mind and create the ability to differentiate between right and wrong. There is a famous saying: “Learning starts from the womb of the mother”. And now scientific research has also proven this fact but in this era all such maxims are just worthless. All these learning and degrees have no importance when you interact with such an influential personality who has a strong ability to control your brain by washing it. These inspiring persons wear angelic masks covering their filthy fiendish faces. They have the ability to destroy anyone’s life no matter how strong he is both mentally and physically.

Yes I am talking about men running terrorist gangs.  

A man called Saad Aziz was recently accused of conducting the Safoora carnage. Saad Aziz, a boy with so many identities: a bright student, footballer, tennis player, a boy with a superb sense of humor, a true lover, an educated person, a dumped and heartbroken boyfriend, a husband, father, religious extremist and eventually a terrorist.

A lot of children in Pakistan dreamed of the life that Saad received as a gift from God but the dilemma is that he quelled the lamp of his life with his very own hands and have chosen the dark lane. Born in Karachi, got educated till O Level from Beaconhouse Gulshan-e-Iqbal branch, passed A Level with excellent grades from The Lyceum Clifton in 2007, and got admission in one of the most well renowned and reputable business institute of Pakistan, IBA. He completed his BBA in 2011 and started working in his own restaurant “Cactus” situated at Sindhi Muslim Cooperative Society, Karachi. He also did an internship of one month at a multinational organization in 2009 as part of his degree. Like normal boys, he also fell for his dream girl during studies but got ditched after which his inner aggression roused and he had chosen the wrong path to omit his anger and hostility.

A person named Ali Rehman is an eccentric and regular feature in Saad Aziz’s story, who escorted him, read his mind and coaxed him to attend lectures at Tanzeem-e-Islami, founded by Dr. Israr Ahmed(late), which is notorious for misguiding youngsters through Islam. According to a recent report of joint interrogation team, Saad confessed that the crux of all the teachings was to ignite ferocity in youngsters. The lesson they deliver through lectures is: “In Pakistan the root of all depraved activities is corruption and the only solution to this is violence”.

This establishment convinced Saad to join a militant organization to get him fully prepared as an official terrorist. He went to Miran Shah at North Waziristan headquarter near the Pak-Afghan border and got fundamental trainings of 25 days. On his return the action started….

Saad Aziz has been involved in several terrorist activities. He had attacked police and Rangers forces almost 12 times. A lot of members of work forces have died and got injured due to these attacks. He has been involved in attacks at different schools in Karachi. On 18th March he was involved in an attack on Beaconhouse School North Nazimbad branch and hurled the pamphlet of Daesh too. On 20th March he attacked Mosque of Bohri community. On 17th April he was involved in firing on the car of an American teacher of Jinnah Dental College named Debra Lobo.  Sabeen Mehmood, the director of T2F, died on 25th April with her mother badly injured due to his intense firing at Phase II extension DHA Lahore. On 13th May he was part of a group along with four others who attacked the bus of the Agha Khan community where 45 people were killed.  All these brutal activities have been performed back-to-back with hardly a gap of one month between one and the next.

Now the question is: why has he become so violent? Does failure in love leave such an impact even on such well educated people? Where were his friends and family when he was jumping into this trench? Is it the worth being an educated person if anyone can come and brainwash you?

One of Saad’s closest friends revealed that he had become religiously inclined after attending Islamic lectures at IBA Iqra Society. He had grown a beard too and went to four-month religious evangelical trips. It is totally inconceivable for his friends that he can be a part of brutality and mass murdering. Even one employee from Cactus denied his involvement in terrorist activities and said that he was totally a family-oriented man with a humble and caring nature. His friends also divulged that Saad is married with a child and that the whole story of his terrorism started after his friendship with Haafiz Nasir alias Yasir. Haafiz Nasir is also an educated person with a Masters in Islamic Studies from Karachi University. He is a trained terrorist and has washed Saad’s mind. It is a bitter truth but after such black swan events parents can hardly trust  any Islamic Institute with their children. Terrorism has penetrated the roots of Islam and it is a very serious issue to ponder upon.

Saad is not the only person from a good family and with an educated background to get involved in such acts. According to counter terrorism department, a huge number of highly educated youngsters have turned into terrorists and have been involved in different activities from Shahbaz Taseer’s kidnapping to 9/11.

Another terrorist involved in Safoora carnage was Mohammad Azfar Ishrat alias Maajid, an engineering graduate from Sir Syed University of Engineering and Technology and also an expert of electronic time bombs.

I don’t know where our society is heading, but I must advise all the parents that it’s time for them to keep a strong check on their children, especially their friends and social circle no matter what their age. Guide them to get education first to become a responsible and sensible citizen instead of just collecting pieces of paper in the name of degrees. Always investigate the religious scholars, their backgrounds, activities and links before handing your children over to them.

The writer is currently doing MPhil in biotechnology from National Institute for Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, Faisalabad, and a freelancer who usually likes to highlight the darker aspects of society.

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