“Heroes are ordinary people who make themselves extraordinary”,
“Heroes are made by the paths they choose, not the powers they are graced with”
The two quotes that can rightly be propounded for a man, a philanthropic personality and symbolic human rights activist who not only rendered his time, services and money while he was alive for the needy and poor people of the deplorable province, Balochistan but also contributed largely in the legal fraternity of the area. He can be regarded as one of the greatest lawyers that the province of Balochistan has had ever produced. Yes, I speak of the courageous, determined and disciplined legal practitioner Mr Baz Muhammad Kakar. Hope for the hopeless who raised voice for Balochistan’s missing persons, an advocate, who campaigned, upheld and always spoke of the rule of law, an independent judiciary in the country and in the province of Balochistan. An individual considered a hero and ideal by hundreds of thousands of people of the region. A man whose services ranges from seeking justice in a court of law for his feeble clients to feeding deprived and underprivileged people of the society, from paying the school fee of the destitute children to donating to different schools, foundations, seminaries, etc. the list of his charitable and humanitarian activities is long and hence not feasible to accommodate all in this limited space.
However, the beacon of light and the ray of hope died when on 8th August 2016, a black day in the history of Balochistan, a ruthless and pitiless suicide bomber blew himself near the main gate entrance of the Sandeman Civil Hospital Quetta resulting in the loss of 70 people along with 56 lawyers of the province which included some of the well-known legal practitioners of the field while leaving more than a hundred wounded. The martyrs included the substantial and iconic advocate, Baz Muhammad Kakar. The said calamity proved drastic and disastrous to the legal fraternity of the province and also impeded the province progress to a greater extent.
The tragedy was so destructive that it not only took the lives of many of the renowned lawyers of the province but also created an environment of fear and horror. The already backward region was further dragged into darkness and ignorance wherein the pursuit of education and of seeking knowledge became a dream and an aspiration next to impossible. Nevertheless, it was at this dismal period when a stalwart and valiant Dr. Lal Muhammad Kakar took the initiative of the formation of the Shaheed Baz Muhammad Kakar Foundation named after his martyred brother, Baz Muhammad Kakar. The foundation since its very inception worked in the field of health of the poor people of the region at one hand and on the other focused on the promotion of education. Hence, in this regard, Shaheed Baz Muhammad Kakar Foundation organized medical camps in various cities of the province where medical teams consisting of highly professional, talented and well-experienced doctors would not only check patients for diagnosing diseases but also distributed medicines worth millions of rupees among the people. As far as education is concerned, the Foundation has until now arranged motivational and career counselling seminars and book fairs at different times of the year highlighting the importance of books in the lives of the people.
On that account, the foundation with the untiring efforts of its chairman and several of its volunteers build up an instrumental and phenomenal library at Quetta with the title of Shahuda 8th August Public Digital Library naming it after the elegant and esteemed martyrs of 8th August 2016 wherein people can quench their thirst of knowledge by reading latest and prominent books of different academic and non-academic subjects ranging from law to politics, from economics to accounting, from international relations to public policy, from natural sciences to biological sciences. They can also equip themselves with the latest research as the library provides access to the world’s leading research and book sites. The library also provides a route and passage to international magazines, newspaper articles, journals, etc. Further, in this nexus, the library has given registration and therefore access to sixty fortunate male and twenty blessed female aspirants in the first place while around fifty aspirants were kept on the waiting list. Nonetheless, it is worth mentioning here that hundreds of applications were received through online registration and in-person process. The registrations were given through a secret ballot process.
In a nutshell, the library provides a comprehensive and inclusive learning environment for the youth and intellectuals of the region. Noticeably, the foundation aims at the building of libraries on each street of the province to foster and cultivate critical thinking among the general masses and over the name of every single majestic martyred lawyer of 8th August 2016. Hence, it is not an exaggeration to say that the foundation is on the way of transforming the society towards glory and prosperity and is intending to set the nation on the path of progress and development via the use of the mighty pen as “the pen is mightier than the sword”. It is the need of the time and the history of this wretched region that demands the changing of the course of the past. Therefore, let’s join hands in hands and support unconditionally the foundation through every possible means to lift and change the nation’s fate and destiny through education.
