The Pakistani community in Jeddah is proud of one of its own, Farman Ali Khan, a Pakistani karate champ who rescued 14 people during the Jeddah floods on Nov. 25 before being swept away in the deluge while he attempted to rescue the 15th person. The World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY) is to sponsor the visit of Khan’s family, comprising his widow and three daughters, to the Kingdom.
“They will soon visit Saudi Arabia as guests of the King,” said Mohammad Khan, Khan’s brother, speaking exclusively to Saudi Gazette from Pakistan, where he was after accompanying his brother’s body home.
The Pakistani community is keenly awaiting their visit. “Khan is a hero who deserves to be honored for his humanitarian service during the floods. We are keen to honor his family when they are here. Khan has set an example for each one of us and we wish to extend any help to the Pakistani consulate in Jeddah in this regard,” said Ehsanul Haq, convener of Pakistan Repatriation Council (PRC), a Jeddah-based social group. In a recent function, the group urged the Pakistani government to award a medal of bravery (Sitara-e-Juraat) to Khan.
Calling Khan a ‘role model’, Tabassum Mohsin Alawi, president and founder of a Jeddah-based Pakistani women’s group, said: “We are looking forward to welcome the wife and children of this selfless victim of the floods, who sacrificed his life for others at a time when the Muslims in other parts of the world are being killed by terrorists, who have nothing to do with Islam.”
“Once again,” she said, “Khan, as a member of the Pakistani community in Saudi Arabia has proved by sacrificing his life that Pakistanis and Saudis are brothers enjoying close ties, and we will never hesitate to offer our lives for our Saudi brothers in testing times.”
The Saudi government announced an amount of SR100,000 to be given to Khan’s daughters.
WAMY has provided a lifetime orphan care program with financial aid of about SR600,000 to Khan’s family. WAMY has also decided to build a school and a mosque in Khan’s district ‘Khawaza Kheila’ in Swat.
“The mosque and the school will be named after Farman Ali Khan in order to immortalize Khan’s voluntary work for Muslims in the Kingdom and also to encourage Muslim youth all over the world to contribute in helping their Muslim brothers and sisters,” Dr. Mohammed Badahddah, WAMY assistant secretary general, told Saudi Gazette.
Khan’s parents, who live in Swat, said they felt “proud” to know that their son’s body was wrapped in the Saudi flag and that he was honored as a martyr.
“My relative in Jeddah told me that Khan saved 14 persons and every time he would think of different approaches to rescue people, including using tire tubes, wooden planks and ropes.
However, when he tried to save the life of one more person, he lost his balance and drowned,” said Khan’s brother, Mohammad.
“His voluntary work of many years fills us with pride. When he was 16, he rescued an old man from fire. My brother was indeed a brave man,” he said.
Khan’s corpse was airlifted to Swat, as requested by his daughters. M. Nasrullah Khan, Pakistani welfare consul at the Pakistani consulate, said: “On receiving the dead body of martyr Farman Ali Khan, we immediately finished the necessary arrangements to transfer it to his family in Pakistan.”
Meanwhile, the Pakistani government has allocated land in Islamabad along with Rs 500,000 in cash to Khan’s daughters.
Khan has also become a sensation of sorts on popular social networking site Facebook, where Jeddah residents have started a campaign that goes by his name recognizing his selfless service during the floods. Many are demanding for granting Saudi citizenship to his family.
“We must honor Khan as a martyr who lost his life rescuing people, most of them Saudi nationals. We would be ashamed of ourselves if we did not realize what he did for Saudis in Jeddah,” said Ali Al-Zahrany, a Saudi citizen.
Mohammed Al-Harbi, another Saudi national, said: “I suggest that Jack Street in Quwaizah District be renamed ‘Farman Ali Khan’ as he is now like a mirror reflecting all voluntary services during the Jeddah floods.”
Khan, 32, came to Saudi Arabia in 2001 to work in a grocery store located in the Kilo13 District in Jeddah. He is survived by his widow and three daughters Zubaida, 7, Madeeha, 6, and Jarira, 4. – SG