Ehtisham Ahmed Sharif, 6893/Iqbal

 

Ehtisham Sharif

By Kazi Zulkader Siddiqui, 671/Latif

Ehtisham Ahmed Sharif, kit no. 6893/Iqbal House joined Cadet College Petaro in 1968 and left the college in 1973.

 He was born on 3 January 1955. He never married. He was shot at in Nawabshah on 13 August 1973, and died in hospital in Karachi on 14 January 1975.

Ehtisham was the youngest son of Mohammad Sharif, a landlord of Nawabshah, Sindh, who had sizeable land holdings in that area, so much so that the railway station near his lands was named Sharifabad.

Ehtisham was also a nephew of Allama Mashriqi, the founder of the Khaksar Movement.

He was appointed the Junior Under Officer (JUO) of Iqbal House in 1972-1973.

Soon after completing his Intermediate at Petaro, Ehtisham was at his family farm at Sharifabad during holidays. While he was sitting with his elder brother Inaam outside the family house on 13 August 1973, unknown assailants fired at them from the dark surroundings, and Inaam was killed on the spot. The firing was suspected to be a result of a family feud.

Ehtisham sustained severe injuries. His body was paralyzed and he was transferred to JPMC at Karachi. This state of paralysis continued, and a couple of years later he finally succumbed to his condition and died at Karachi on 14 January 1975. His body was taken to Nawabshah where he is buried.

During his period of treatment at JPMC, Asif Ali Zardari, 991/J (who was a close friend of Ehtisham) used to visit him regularly and would send him home-made food. Asif always took good care of his friends.