This is part of a limited, annual, series, “14 Days, 14 Stories”, about ordinary Pakistanis who are doing extraordinary things in order to give back to Pakistan.
Sharjil Baloch, a Pakistani video producer based in Balochistan, recently started a wonderful initiative where he decided to pay tribute to the martyred lawyers from last year’s Civil Hospital Quetta attack.
In a series of portraits, Sharjil Baloch has remembered those who passed away in the horrific attack on August 8 last year.
Pakistani writer and journalist, Mohammed Hanif, recently lauded him too for the heartfelt initiative
Sharjil Baloch made portrait of every single lawyer who died in Quetta attack. And is giving it to their families. He is crazy and lovely https://t.co/NxTFk2IxBu
— mohammedhanif (@mohammedhanif) August 8, 2017
So we reached out to Sharjil. While talking to MangoBaaz about the heartfelt gesture, he said:
“It came as a shock to me that a week after the Quetta attack, people seemed to have forgotten about the incident. Yeh mere zameen ke log hain. Mujhe unki yaad dhilani thi. I carried that pain with me for a year. However, I realized that we couldn’t heal the pain. But we could remember the victims. The gesture is a tribute to Balochistan’s artists, and the advocates who have been martyred.”
The portraits of the martyrs were displayed at the Balochistan High Court.
Posted by Sharjil Baloch on Dienstag, 8. August 2017
Additionally, all the martyrs were included in the heartfelt project.
Moreover, Sharjil intends to provide families of the martyrs with prints of the portraits.
Holding the potrait of my beloved brother Shaheed Sangat Jamaldini along with Sherjeel Baloch who sketched them pic.twitter.com/MZcRdkkpeD
— Ameer Jan Jamaldini (@AmyrJhyn) August 7, 2017
Many came forward to salute Sharjil for his gesture
Salute to Sharjeel and his thoughts
— Syed Shaheen Jafri (@83Swash) August 8, 2017
Some praised Sharjil for being the kind-hearted, talented individual he is
want to hug our dear friend Sharjil, who has a loving soft heart and incredible talent.
— Javed Soomro (@javisoomro) August 8, 2017
And some considered it a “befitting memorial”
A befitting memorial to the martyrs of Quetta attack. https://t.co/fvmb45P1YQ
— Nafisa Shah (@ShahNafisa) August 8, 2017
Others rightly stated that people like Sharjil restore our faith in humanity
Such people restore faith in the world. Hats off to him. Dil sey dua nikli hai.
— Aasma (@AasmaMushtaq) August 8, 2017
Moreover, Sharjil highlighted how the families should know that their loved ones are remembered. He also had the following message to convey:
“Muhabbat karna na chorein. Uska izhar karein.”
Truly, we could all learn a lot through Sharjil’s work and the message he’s conveying. Here’s hoping that the families find solace within these beautiful portraits. Additionally, let us hope our countrymen rediscover the empathy that has seemingly dissipated over time.
For more stories from our series about extraordinary Pakistanis check out “14 Days, 14 Stories”.
Cover image via Facebook/Sharjil Baloch