Death of brilliant teacher leaves all shocked

PESHAWAR: The pain he passed through helplessly in his locked hostel-room all alone while battling for days with a deadly stroke was something more agonizing than his demise. Syed Shakeel Ahmad, a lecturer at Abasyn University Peshawar, succumbed to the multiple complications he had developed after suffering brain hemorrhage on Thursday morning.

He was alone in his room and no one was aware of his condition. His boss in the Abasyn University and colleagues at the coaching academy where he had been teaching got worried about him when he remained absent from his duties for three consecutive days without informing anyone.

Dr AZ Hilali, head of the Department of Governance, Politics, International Relations and Public Policy, Abasyn University took the lead to visit the room where he was staying. The hostel warden and other colleagues gathered and they called police to break into the room and find Shakeel counting his last breaths.

They rushed him to the nearby Khyber Teaching Hospital where emergency treatment was given to him. But he could not survive the fatal complications he had developed after the deadly attack he had suffered almost three days before he was brought to the hospital.

The aggressive treatment at the hospital could not keep him alive for more than five hours and he bade farewell to this mortal world in the wee hours of Thursday.

The news of his death caught everyone - his friends, colleagues and students - by surprise. No one was ready to believe the sad news. A number of people turned up to attend his funeral at Jamia Uloom-e-Islamia at Rahatabad here. His sister had come all the way from Wana, South Waziristan, where she is posted as a doctor, and took him to their native town in Dera Ismail Khan for a burial.

Shakeel was just 43 years old. He was unmarried. His parents had already left for the eternal abode. A brother of two married sisters, he would live alone in the provincial metropolis. He was having a warm relationship with one of his two sisters.

He was a smart man, always careful about his health. Every day he would come to the university with a new idea of exercise which he would discuss with his colleagues. He was so innocent. He would never engage in reasoning with his friends and colleagues. He would make his point and stay silent if others refused to accept what he had stated.

His earnest hobbies were adding to the treasure of knowledge he had and imparting it to his students. It was his unquenching thirst for knowledge that has made him do master’s degrees in four disciplines - International Relations, Political Science, History and Islamic Studies. He had also done his MPhil in International Relations and was about to complete his PhD in the same subject.

Hardly any year would pass for him without appearing in a major exam. He would remain very concerned about his exams and would make full preparation for them. He was a thorough reader of books. He would not hesitate in sharing the crux of the books he would study with his friends and colleagues.

Shakeel was such a nice person and perhaps this was the reason that he was missed a lot by all those present at his funeral. In the absence of his immediate relatives, his friends and relatives were sharing the grief of his demise with each other.

Visibly sad, Dr Hilali was standing at the main entrance to the seminary where the funeral was to be offered. He was receiving all those coming to participate in the last rites for Shakeel.

Sharing his views with The News, Dr Hilali said Syed Shakeel Ahmad Shah was a prominent name in education circles in the province. He had devoted his life for teaching. He was associated with Abasyn University Peshawar as a lecturer.

Syed Shakeel Ahmad began his career from the Department of International Relations, University of Peshawar and later joined Department of Political Science, Islamia College University Peshawar as a visiting teacher and spent 10 years there. But his services were not regularized there owing to the routine nepotism and favoritism, Dr Hilali said.

After leaving Islamia College University in 2016, Shakeel joined Abasyn University and remained associated with it till his death.

Dr Hilali said that Syed Shakeel was a very humble, nice and civilized person in this highly double-standard society. He had a passion for reading and serving the students. He was popular with the students and teachers.

There is no doubt that he was a well-known person as an educationist. A large number of people, mostly his students and fellows, paying homage to him by attending his funeral was the most valuable regard given to him after his painful death.