Though the menace of terrorism has been largely eradicated from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, we must never forget those who lost their lives trying to stop it.

Dr Muhammad Farooq Khan raised his voice against extremism at a time when most dared not do so fearing the wrath of the militants. These enemies of peace silenced his voice on October 2, 2010.

Dr Khan was born in Swabi in 1956, acquired his early schooling from Swabi and then went to Cadet College, Kohat. Dr Khan, originally a psychiatrist, was running a medical clinic in Baghdada, Mardan. He was also a great teacher, politician and philanthropist. The government of Pakistan appointed him the first vice chancellor of Swat Islamic University and later awarded him Sitara-i-Imtiaz (posthumously).

Dr Khan was a renowned Islamic scholar, interpreter and commentator with a moderate narrative of Islam. He had been hosting religious programmes on PTV and other TV channels. He authored a number of books in Urdu and English, including Jihad, Qital and the Islamic World, Islam and Women, What is Islam?, Modern Questions and Islam’s Response, A Critical Study of Ordinances on Hudood, Qisas and Diyat, Jihad and Terrorism and Dialogue with the West.

Committed to saving innocent lives of his people, Dr Khan dauntlessly challenged the narrative of those who preached armed struggle and uprising. He presented an enlightened vision of Islamic teachings that made him many enemies. Columnist Khurshed Nadeem writes: “People like Dr Muhammad Farooq Khan are the salt of the earth. They don’t care about who will remember them. Such people live and die in obedience to God and crave no praise and certificates. When a society forgets their value, the earth is deprived of its salt.”

Dr Farooq Khan had lit the candle of enlightenment in Swat valley at a time when many scholars had chosen to keep mum due to the fear of militants. He served as the first Swat University VC. It is sad that successive governments have ignored suggestions to name the university after him.

Another vocal critic of the militants was Maulana Hassan Jan. Born on January 3, 1937, in a noted family in Charsada district, Sheikh Hassan Jan received his primary education from his father Maulana Ali Akbar Jan and uncle Maulana Rehman-ud Din Naqshbandi at a mosque in his native area.

Dr Khan was a renowned Islamic scholar, interpreter and commentator with a moderate narrative of Islam. The government appointed him the first vice chancellor of Swat Islamic University. 

Jan was one of the 18 students from Pakistan who had the opportunity to study at the University of Madinah in the mid-70s. On his return to the country, he joined Jamia Ashrafia, Lahore, for Doura-i-Hadith. In an academic career spanning two decades, Maulana Hassan Jan taught a large number of students the Sehah-i-Sitta at various seminaries. Among other places he taught at Jamia Numania in Charsadda, Jamia Arabia at Tal, Jamia Haqqania at Akkora Khattak, Akbar Darul-Uloom in Mardan and Jamia Imdadul Uloom in Peshawar where he remained till 2007. The government of Pakistan recognised his services with a presidential award in 1971 when he secured the first position in MA Islamic studies from Peshawar University.

After 2001, as militancy peaked in the Tribal Areas, the Maulana stood firm against an extremist narrative. He vehemently denounced suicide bombings and acts of destruction in the name of Islam, calling them haram (forbidden) in his Friday sermons, media interviews and academic lectures.

Maulana Hassan Jan also advised the Afghan Taliban to join the democratic setup in Afghanistan. He argued that a reduction in violence would pave the way for the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and lead to peace in the country.

Several delegation from the Afghan Taliban met him and urged him not to denounce their armed struggle. However, Maulana Jan insisted that he had the right to express an opinion and stand by it. On September 15, 2007, three men disguised as seminary students, took Maulana Jan with them by requesting that he solemnise a nikah. On reaching Wazirabad area of Peshawar, they dragged the Maulana out of the car and shot him.

Maulana Hassan Jan was a moderate Islamic scholar, a teacher of hadith and a preacher. In 1990, he was nominated by the Jamiat-i-Ulama-i-Islam to run for the National Assembly seat for Charsadda. He defeated Awami National Party chief Khan Abdul Wali Khan. Later, he returned to his teaching career.

Both Sheikh Hassan Jan and Dr Muhammad Farooq Khan were fearless people who sacrificed their lives while fighting against terrorists and their facilitators. Khushal Khan Khattak’s verses aptly sum up their services:

‘Sha khu daa chi da

cha nom pakay yadezhi

Paa pani dunya ban a

vi zhwanday tal sok’

[No one can live forever in this fleeting world,

So it is better to remember someone’s name here]

The writer is a lecturer at Zhob Degree College and a columnist. He can be reached at hussianhunarmal@gmail.com