I have known Akash since childhood. As a cousin, friend, college junior and most of all, a role model. He was never a natural sportsman, yet I can recall his determination and efforts for becoming a footballer. That was the first time I noticed the strength of character which he possessed. Even though, He was an average student but using the same qualities, he surprised everyone with his performance in board exam. And when he wanted to join Army, everyone thought that hell never b able to achieve that. But once again he proved us all wrong. He proved that his mental strength and resilience can overcome every physical obstacle. He also proved that we can achieve anything we want, its just our mind which needs to be conquered. But I was most inspired by him on the day of Arsalan Khans wedding. He came to attend it straight from his last exercise. Yet there were no signs of fatigue on his ever smiling face. His course was inviting me for his passing out, to be held in a week of that day. He was sharing his SSG experiences with a lot of enthusiam. That day, i could see a shine on his face, a sense of accomplishment. He said,Eraj, I need a medical advice from u. I was naturally concerned. He told me that during recent exercise, he fell off a cliff, 15 feet above, and landed on his back. He said, I was paralysed, I could not feel my legs. And at that moment, for the first time in my course, i could feel tears in my eyes. And I prayed to God. Aye Allah, I came so far and I wanna go further. I want to b an SSG and I want to serve. He told me he stayed there for around 20 minutes, praying to Allah and then he started feeling his legs again. Being a doctor, I asked mechanically, Do u still have the pain. He nodded his head, Yes! but nothing which I cant bear. I observed him for a while. There was absolutely no signs of agony in his facial expressions or posture, and I said, Gosh, u commandos are tough. I never thought that day, that he can hide his desires even better. We never got to know how much he adored martyrdom. And even if we had, there was no one stopping him. Because he had already signed a pact with his God. A pact which is worth more than a thousand lives of a king, and a pact which God signs with only the Chosen Ones. Regards, Dr. Eraj Khan
Posted on: Sat, 23 Aug 2014 07:05:32 +0000