A Cry Buried Beneath the Soil -

Written by: Syed Nouman ud Din Advocate
Chairman, Peace and Justice Human Rights Organization (PJHRO)
Some news stories are not merely news items; they are deep emotional wounds carved into the human heart. They leave the eyes tearful and the soul restless. Some incidents do not end on newspaper pages; they continue to live within families as permanent grief. The story of Hamza Khan is one such heartbreaking tragedy.
A young man…
whose dreams still shone in his eyes.
whose mother had wrapped countless prayers for his future.
whose father had built his hopes around his success.
whose siblings found life in his smile.
No one ever imagined that one day he would leave home and never return again.
It is said that he went to Mansehra in connection with a financial matter. He went with trust and confidence—perhaps believing that those he was going to meet were his own people. But life’s greatest tragedy is this: sometimes the deepest wounds are not given by strangers, but by those we trust the most.
Then suddenly, silence fell…
The phone went off.
Contacts were lost.
And an entire household was drowned in uncertainty.
A mother would rise at every knock on the door, hold her breath at every phone call, and pray every night for her son’s safe return. But days turned into weeks, and hope slowly transformed into unbearable pain.
And then came the horrifying truth that shook every heart…
Hamza was no longer alive.
He had been buried in an eight-foot-deep grave.
Soil was thrown over his body, animal waste was spread over it, and horses were reportedly made to stand above the grave to erase all traces of the crime.
But history holds one undeniable truth:
Bodies may be buried, but truth cannot.
Crimes may be hidden, but justice cannot be silenced.
This was not just a murder.
It was an attack on Human Dignity.
It was a grave violation of the Right to Life guaranteed under Article 9 of the Constitution of Pakistan.
For the Islamabad Police, this was no ordinary case.
The accused was a former Senior Police Officer, backed by power, influence, and connections. Yet the beauty of law lies in its neutrality—it does not see rank or status, only truth.
SHO Syed Asim Ghaffar and his team continued their investigation with courage, professionalism, and persistence. A mobile phone, silent evidence, and conflicting statements eventually led them to the horrifying reality where the earth itself was hiding a dark secret.
And then came the moment…
when the soil finally spoke.
The ground was opened.
And what came out was not just a body, but the shattered grief of a mother, the broken dreams of a family, and the unanswered question of an entire society.
I often think…
When Hamza’s mother saw her son in that condition, what must have gone through her heart?
Did even the earth feel ashamed in that moment?
Did the sky also weep silently?
Which law can account for a mother’s tears?
Which judgment can repair a brother’s broken heart?
Courts deliver justice, but some griefs are beyond judgment.
Today, the court announced its verdict.
Former SP Arif Hussain Shah was awarded the death penalty.
This judgment reflects the supremacy of law, institutional integrity, and the triumph of justice.
But one question still remains…
Can this verdict bring Hamza back?
Can it fill the empty arms of a grieving mother?
Perhaps not…
Because some wounds are not healed by time, nor even by justice.
In the end, the words of Ahmed Faraz beautifully reflect this sorrow:
“I heard when he speaks, flowers fall from his words;
If that is true, then let us speak and see.”
But Hamza will never speak again.
Only his silent grave will speak…
and perhaps it will always whisper:
“They buried me under soil thinking my story was over,
but truth lives longer than graves.”
This is the true spirit of human rights.
This is the essence of law.
And this is the real face of justice.