This is what a hero looks like.
Afghanistan’s image has suffered considerably over the years, but especially since the Soviet Union invaded in 1979 and then when the U.S. followed suit in 2001. Since the Soviet occupation, news reports have consistently pictured a country in chaos, where life was cheap and religious extremism made it barely inhabitable. But it still produces heroes.
The latest is police Lieutenant Sayed Basam Pacha. And he will be sorely missed, not just by his family, but by the entire nation of Afghanistan. On Thursday, November 16th Lieutenant Sayed Pacha along with the 2nd Company of Police District 4, the unit he commanded, was guarding the security gate to the hotel in the Khairkhana area of Kabul where regional and national dignitaries were meeting. A man walked up wearing a heavy coat and Pacha apparently suspected he was a suicide bomber. When the Lieutenant called on him to stop, the man began running and without hesitation, Pacha took several quick steps, threw his arms around the man in a bear hug…and was killed along with his 7 police companions and 6 nearby civilians when the man detonated the suicide vest under his coat. 18 others were wounded.
No one will ever know what Pacha’s last thoughts were, but he knew his duty was to protect and serve. He did this without flinching in the face of certain death. The powerful blast destroyed nearby vehicles and blew out windows in buildings hundreds of yards away. But by all accounts, the death toll would have been much higher without Pacha’s body blunting the effect of the bomb blast.
Pacha’s father, Police Commander Gen. Sayed Nizam Agha, when reached by phone said: “My son sacrificed himself to save other people.” He wept as he recounted his son’s story. “He had two bachelor degrees, one in political science and another one at the police academy,” the father proudly said. “He studied five years in Turkey. He came back from Turkey a year and a half ago. He was 25 years old and was single.”
The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack but they did not count on the bravery and devotion to duty of Lt. Sayed that blunted what would have been a much more devasting blast with numerous additional victims.
There will never be enough men and women in this world like Lieutenant Sayed Basam Pacha. His bravery and valor are in too short supply. He is a true hero and should be honored and remembered down through the halls of time. Afghanistan is fortunate to have called him a son.
There will never be enough men and women in this world like Lieutenant Sayed Basam Pacha. His bravery and valor are in too short supply. He is a true hero and should be honored and remembered down through the halls of time. Afghanistan is fortunate to have called him a son.
