Pakistani boy who died trying to stop suicide bomber is hailed as hero

Aitizaz Hasan, 15, is praised for saving classmates' lives by tackling bomber outside his school in north-western Pakistan

theguardian.com, Jon Boone in Islamabad,  Thursday 9 January 2014

Pakistani security officials examine the site of the suicide bombing in
Hangu. Photograph: Basit Shah/AFP/Getty Images

A 15-year-old who died while tried to defend his school in Pakistan's troubled north-west from a suicide bomber has been hailed as a hero for saving the lives of many of his classmates.

Aitizaz Hasan tackled the bomber as he stood outside as a punishment for being late to school in Hangu, a town in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, on Monday.

His two companions fled the scene after spotting the bomb being carried by the man, who was trying to gain access to the school, but Aitizaz grabbed the bomber.

Unable to stop him from detonating his bomb, Aitizaz later died of his wounds in hospital.

Hangu has a large community of Shias, an Islamic sect which many militant groups regard as heretics who should convert to the majority Sunni faith or be killed.

Aitizaz's actions are thought to have saved the lives of many of the 2,000 students who were believed to be in the building at the time.

"My son made his mother cry, but saved hundreds of mothers from crying for their children," his father, Mujahid Ali, told the Express Tribune newspaper.

"There are a handful of people in the world who are martyrs; I am now one of those proud fathers whose son is among them."

Praise has poured in for Aitizaz's efforts, with some calling for him to be posthumously honoured.

On social media the young boy has been embraced as a national hero for fighting back at a time when most politicians are desperate to pursue a negotiated settlement with militant groups – a strategy condemned by many terrorism experts.

"We live in a land where a young child had to give his life fighting a scourge that our own leaders bend over backwards in an attempt to appease," wrote Zarrar Khuhro, a journalist for Dawn newspaper.

Suicide bomb attacks are increasingly common in Pakistan. A report earlier in the week by the Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies said suicide attacks had increased by 39% in 2013 to a total of 46.

On Thursday a crusading policeman famous for battling militants in the troubled city of Karachi was killed by a Taliban suicide bomber who rammed his car with an explosive-packed vehicle.

Chaudhry Aslam, who as head of Karachi's Criminal Investigation Department had survived numerous other assassination attempts, died alongside several other police officers in the Essa Nagri area of Karachi despite the protection of the bullet-proof car he was travelling in.