Family members mourn Afaq’s death. (Express photo: Amit Mehra)Twelve hours after she last saw her husband, Reshma (28) found herself staring at his blood splattered in an alley near her house. It was a busy Sunday, as she went from cleaning utensils at her employer’s house to taking her nine-year-old son to a hospital for a check-up.
“I returned from the hospital at 6.30 pm and was told something had happened to my husband. When I reached GTB Hospital, I was told he was dead,” said Reshma, waiting for his body to be handed to the family after the post-mortem.
According to police, Reshma’s husband Afaq Ali, a tailor, was shot dead, allegedly by Mehtab, for throwing a brick at his pet dog as it chased him.
In the park near Ali’s rented accommodation, family members and neighbours gathered to console Reshma, who is five months pregnant with her fourth child.
“He earned Rs 6,000 a month. He used to stitch school uniforms. We used to joke about how our children will always have the best school uniforms. I earn Rs 1,300 a month washing utensils. Somehow we managed to run a house, but how will I manage now?” she said.
Her three children — two boys aged 9 and 10 and a girl aged 6 — watched from a distance as Ali’s body was brought to the park near their home.
“Afaq was killed over a dog, is that how little his life mattered? He never got into a fight, and today he leaves behind young children and a pregnant wife. Who will take care of my daughter now?” said Reshma’s mother Kaneez Shaukat.
