Gone but not forgotten: The tale of Captain Roohullah's ultimate sacrifice

QUETTA: Captain Roohullah Shaheed, who will be posthumously awarded the Sitara-e-Jurat for his unwavering bravery, sacrificed his life and saved several police cadets from sudden death, as per an account shared by a police cadet who had survived the terrorist attack. 

Captain Roohullah selflessly sacrificed himself so that scores of other police cadets could live another day. This account was shared by a police cadet who had survived through the horror of October 24, when militants stormed the Police Training Centre in Quetta. Recalling the incident, according to media sources, the police cadet claimed that one suicide bomber managed to enter a roomful of cadets and hid with them inside. 

"The suicide bomber had come inside our room and had hidden himself beneath a charpoye," he said. "It was pitch dark and we thought he was also one of the cadets and not a suicide bomber. It was then that the door opened and Captain Roohullah came inside," he added. 

The survivor narrated how Captain Roohullah told them all that he was an SSG soldier, to which everyone responded that they were police cadets.

"He (Captain Roohullah) then told us to come out of the room with our hands up," he said. "I can still remember his voice then as he said to us, 'Who is that beneath the charpoye'. Saying that, he kicked the charpoye and the suicide bomber, who was still hiding under it, was exposed. Captain Roohullah threw himself at the suicide bomber without a second's delay and all I remember then was a blast," the cadet revealed.

The survivor then recounted how they all lost their consciousness and later came to know that the SSG soldier's heroic act had claimed his life but had saved lots of others. He thanked Captain Roohullah for rendering the ultimate sacrifice and saluted him for his bravery. 

61 security officials were martyred in the attack which took place on Monday night and more than 150 were injured in the incident.