THE Pakistan embassy’s Bahrain community welfare attaché Maqsood Qadir Shah on Oct 24 offered his condolences and support to the family of a Pakistani, Imran Ahmed Mohammed Mustafa Saeed.

Imran Ahmed was killed in an explosion a week ago caused by anti - social agents acting like the Pakistani Taliban. This was the second tragedy for the family. Four months earlier, Imran Ahmed’s brother died in a road accident.

The community welfare attaché told the press: “We have asked the family to call us if they need any help and we are ready for it.”

He said further that “they need support from the embassy, community members and the Bahrain government.”

Earlier in the morning newspapers said the Pakistan ambassador was going to visit the family that day. Our ambassador, however, did not visit the family for condolence.

The interior minister of Bahrain, on the other hand, visited the family to condole with them and attended the funeral rites.

On Oct 22 an interview of Imran Ahmed’s sister appeared in local newspapers. She said her father had been particularly affected by the loss of his two sons in such a short span, and the family was now facing a nightmarish situation. She said her younger sisters are still studying in Pakistan School and they cannot afford the fees.

According to her, they were getting financial support from her brothers but now they are gone and her father cannot support them all on his meagre salary. What this family badly needs is clear.

The question is: when Imran Ahmed’s sister in her interview on Oct 22 had stated that her family needed help, how the community welfare attaché on Oct 24 can ask the family to ‘call him’ if any help is needed.

It is a clear message that the embassy does not want to give any real help. The Pakistan School, where these sisters are studying and are now unable to pay fees, had been for 40 years under the Pakistan embassy.

All Pakistan embassy staff had their children in this school. All of them had got their children fees waived off, declaring themselves poor, though all of them had been taking education allowance from Islamabad. As a first step, the community welfare attaché can at least personally meet the school board and request them to waive off school fees of these girls. If a large amount of money can be spent on fashion shows, tickets, models designers, then a little amount of money can be used from the same source to help this family without asking them ‘if they need help’.

M.A. KHAN Bahrain