Monday, June 18, 2018

In Memory of Tariq Qureshi

 
(24 May 1955 - 18 June 2018)
It was a sad coincidence yesterday that I thought of compiling the dates of heavenly departures of all our course mates who had gone to heavens before us so that I could keep reminding the rest on those dates to specially pray for them. I never knew that I was to make another addition right after a few moments when I opened the Facebook.

The moment I opened the Facebook, the first message that caught my eye was the sad and shocking announcement of our dear Tariq Qureshi's death. 
My great uncle PA NO 17760 MAJ ( R )  TARIQ QURESHI PASSED AWAY . JANAZA  WILL BE AT ASKARI 12    H NO SD 137  AIR PORT  ROAD RWPAllah Magfarat farmaye awr janat ul firdos me Ala muqam Ata farmaye.... Ameen

Not sure what to do, I reluctantly shared the message on Course Group on WhatsApp as an unconfirmed news and then talked to Asif, the course secretary, who too was unaware of the shocking news. I tried calling Tariq's number which went unanswered, but in the meantime someone got connected and hence the news were confirmed.
 Final Term PMA platoon group photo
Although Tariq was suffering from severe heart problems for quite sometime now and has been admitted in hospital a couple of times, he had finally come home and we thought that now he was on his way to recovery. But yesterday morning, 18th of June, only a few days after Eid ul Fitr and following day of the Father's Day, he chose to take his heavenly flight. Although he was rushed to AFIC and doctors tried to revive his heart for good about half an hour, Tariq left all of us in shock and mourning and slipped away. His namaz-e-janaza was held after Isha prayers in Askari XII where he lived and was later buried in the Army Graveyard, Race Course Ground, Rawalpindi.




Tariq Qureshi by nature was the gentlest of all our course mates. He was soft spoken, always carrying a smile and meeting with open arms and his typical warmth. Those who knew him closely or were his platoon mates always spoke very high of him and he was rightly respected by the rest.
Young Tariq with his family
 Tariq Qureshi at Kalar Kahar get together
Tariq with Arshad at Abbottabad get together

Remembering Tariq Qureshi, Mushtaq writes:
Tariq was a great soul. Once I visited him in Shifa Intl, despite under heavy sedation with 10s of drips passing all over his body and almost unconscious as he appeared to me, his son asked him  who I was, barely opening his eyes, he responded with 55th spirit of confidence "o yes I know Mushtaq course mate" I felt a mixed surge of grief (because of the agony he was in) and esprit de corps jolting my body and emotions   but maintained my strength to assure him and prayed for his early recovery. A thorough gentleman and only about a year back he came to me in connection with support he needed for Helping Hand (if I remember correctly) a NGO he was working voluntarily and fe sabeel lillah. We shall definitely miss a humble comrade. May Allah shower all His blessings upon him. Ameen
 Happy family days
A thoughtful Tariq

Maqsood wrote of sudden departure:
Sad & shocking. Tariq left like he was in a hurry. A gentle soul with neat habits. May he rest in peace & may Allah grant his family the strength to bear this loss, Aameen
Farooq remembers Tariq in these very words:
Its really shocking and sad news as read on the demise of Great Major Muhammad Tariq Qureshi.  He was my most sincere and closest friend.  May Allah bless him Jannat ul Firdous and Allah give courage to his family members to bear this shock Ameen.  Its really a sad day without him.
Nauman remembers Tariq and remarks: A very humble soul. He faced life's trials and tribulations with great patience.

Finally Munir summed it very befittingly: Woh ik shakhs saare sheher ko udaas kar gia, Tariq was certainly among the finest of 55th! May Allah bless him with the best in the hereafter. Ameen!

Tariq Qureshi was an avid follower of my blogs, specially JahoJalal and would share some of my posts and photos from my blog on his Facebook page. While I added his thumbnail photo on the blog header, it was doing so with a very heavy heart as usual. May Allah bless you dear friend Tariq and grant you your choicest place in Jannah and give strength to your family to bear this irreparable loss with fortitude and patience. Aameen 

5 comments:

Col Mushtaq (R) said...

Jalal!Indeed a befitting tribute to late Tariq Qureshi. May Allah grant him higher levels of jannah. Amin.

Unknown said...

I'm proud of my brother,n feel so elevated on reading beautiful comments written by his friends/ collgues.

Jamil said...

Shocked to hear about sad news of my dear brother, friend n platoon mate Tariq Qureshi. A thorough gentleman who has been consistent as a kind n noble man since I know him as my comrade since 1975.
His intro as a cadet in 1st term which was our friendly line when ever we met later:"Tariq Qureshi from Ship-Owners College, Karachi Sir", will always smile n hug.
We have been together on many occasions but TQ has always been respectful, nice n pleasant.
May Almighty Allah rest his soul in peace and Grant strength to his family to bear thus irreparable loss, Aameen.

Baqar said...

My last interaction with TQ was in on one of the course GTG. However, on my short stint in Sialkot we often met where he was CDSO (if I remember correctly).
May ALLAH SWT rest him in eternal peace and bless him with choicest place in HIS jawar e rahmat. AAMEEN.

S A J Shirazi said...

Rip TQ.