Shattered family grieves as Toronto cab driver is laid to rest in his village in central plains of Punjab
The Globe and Mail, Friday, February 3, 2006
SONYAFATAH
Special to The Globe and Mail; Sonia Puzic
JAMALI BALOCHA, PAKISTAN — Wrapped in white cloth and sprinkled with rose petals, Tahir Khan was laid to rest in this Punjabi village nine days after a car crash on Mount Pleasant Road that took his life.
More than 400 men, many of them clothed in black, marking them as Shiites, followed the funeral procession down the dusty, tarred village road in Pakistan.
In his coffin, Mr. Khan’s face was uncovered, revealing sharp, striking features. The mourners, most of them members of the community, took one last look at him before the coffin was sealed and covered with a black shroud imprinted with Koranic verses.
Azhar Shah, the Imam, conducted the final rites as Mr. Khan’s body was lowered into the grave in the presence of his father, Ansar Khan, his brother, Shahid Khan, his wife’s four brothers and scores of relatives and close friends.
Afterward, a sombre mood descended as family members gathered for the first time since learning of Mr. Khan’s death.
Mr. Khan hailed from this village in central Punjab, a flat, desert-like region not far from the Jhelum and Chenab Rivers, and immigrated to Canada six years ago.
He sent money home to support his wife, Najma Batool, and their three children, Ramla, 13, Sabih, 11, and Fakhir, 4, who lived in Jhang city, sharing hopes of a reunion. Mr. Khan was to receive his Canadian citizenship last Friday and had planned to bring his family to Toronto.
Instead, a shattered collection of relatives from across Pakistan gathered to catch a last glimpse of a man who was to be the first in his locality to become a Canadian citizen.
Mr. Khan’s family did not want to discuss the details of the case in which two 18-year-olds, Dumani Ross and Alexander Ryazanov, face criminal charges in his death after an alleged street race between two luxury cars.
At the funeral, Mr. Khan’s elderly and frail father leaned on a relative for support and collapsed some distance away on the dusty ground of the cemetery.
He grieved publicly for his son, and suggested that it is immaterial what happens to whomever is found responsible.
“What’s the point?” Ansar Khan shrugged. “My son is dead. They should offer us compensation instead. Maybe, 50 to 100 million rupees [$1-million to $2-million].”
His comments were unexpected; most family members made an effort to avoid the media.
Male family members did not allow reporters to talk to female relatives, including Mr. Khan’s wife.
“She is virtually in a coma,” said Shabbir Khan, a long-time friend and a cousin of Mr. Khan’s Toronto roommate, Shahid Hasan. “She hasn’t eaten much for nine days, what will she say?”
Shabbir Khan, who works at the Karachi Port Trust, said that the family had suffered undue stress because of legal complications in clearing Mr. Khan’s body for transport back to Pakistan. “First we couldn’t find Tahir’s passport, so they had to issue a new one.”
He singled out Pakistan’s vice-consul in Toronto, Shoaib Sarwar, for going the extra mile in helping clear the complications.
Mr. Khan’s brother, Shahid, an inspector for the Intelligence Bureau in Islamabad, attended the funeral but was unavailable for comment.
Mr. Khan married his first cousin, Najma Batool, in 1993. For the first few years, the couple lived in different parts of the country, including Karachi.
Shabbir Khan said he spent almost two decades in the company of Mr. Khan, but he could not recall what Mr. Khan did for a living before he left for Canada, only that “he had worked here and there.”
Several organizations, including the Islamic Research Foundation, have offered the family free legal aid in handling the Toronto case.
“The Diamond cab company has offered to help us if we give them the authority,” Shabbir Khan added.
Offers of legal assistance and the hope of financial compensation aside, there seems little chance that Mr. Khan’s dream of having his family live in Canada will come true.
“The reason Tahir didn’t take his family with him to Canada was because it is prohibitively expensive, especially if your wife doesn’t work. He couldn’t afford it. Even if she gets Canadian citizenship, what difference does it make? She’s illiterate and she can’t support her family,” Shabbir Khan said.
Trust fund
Donations have been pouring into the trust fund for Tahir Khan’s family and $17,300 has been collected so far, said Jim Bell, general manager of Diamond Taxi Association. The company has sent a $5,000 cheque to Mr. Khan’s widow and is expecting to collect an insurance policy settlement on her behalf in the next two weeks. The decision to grant Mr. Khan posthumous Canadian citizenship has been left up to the incoming federal government, said a spokeswoman for Ontario’s Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, Mike Colle. Sonja Puzic
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