No love greater than a mother’s

GILGIT: Fighting against the rising torrents for almost an hour, a mother rescued her six-year-old son after he fell into the Ghizer River.

In a remote village near Gilgit, the wife of Rehmat Ali Shah, (name not disclosed for privacy) jumped into the river when her son fell into the water as he played near the banks. “I had no other feeling at the time but to rescue my son or sacrifice my own life for him,” she is quoted as telling her family.

By the time she reached her son, Shah’s wife had almost gone three kilometres into the water. “Without my son, the world held no charm for me, so I put my own life in danger,” she said, adding that she was thankful to God for helping her.

Although the incident occurred on Thursday, it was not reported due to the remoteness of the area.

Despite efforts, no further information about the family could be gathered since the recent floods have destroyed the communication system of the region. It is said that over 370 villages and 947 roads in this mountainous region have been damaged.

Incidents of people drowning are common in the rugged region, as people do their washing near the banks and fetch water from the rivers due to lack of better facilities.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 22nd, 2010.