Body of boy missing since 2005 earthquake recovered after 21 years in Balakot

The remains of a five-year-old boy who went missing during the devastating October 8, 2005 earthquake were recovered

BALAKOT: The remains of a five-year-old boy who went missing during the devastating October 8, 2005 earthquake were recovered nearly 21 years later during excavation work for the reconstruction of his family’s destroyed home, reopening painful memories for his family and the entire community.

The deceased, Jamal Shafiq, son of Qari Shafiq-ur-Rehman, a resident of Khawaja Kheli Mohallah in Garan Dhairi, Balakot, had been trapped under the rubble when the powerful earthquake struck on October 8, 2005. Despite months of search efforts by family members and local residents, his body could not be found at the time.

According to Qari Shafiq-ur-Rehman, the child’s remains were recently discovered while workers were excavating the foundations of the family’s old house for reconstruction. He said the discovery brought back the grief of losing his son but also provided the family with the opportunity to give him a proper Islamic burial.

The funeral prayers were attended by local elders, relatives, and a large number of residents. The child was later laid to rest in the local graveyard amid an atmosphere of deep sorrow.

The boy’s uncle, Habib-ur-Rehman, said the recovery of the remains revived the painful memories of the catastrophic earthquake, which caused irreparable losses to thousands of families, including theirs.

The magnitude 7.6 earthquake that struck northern Pakistan on October 8, 2005 devastated Balakot, Mansehra, Muzaffarabad, and surrounding regions, killing tens of thousands of people, displacing millions, and reducing countless homes and buildings to rubble.