Gang culture and mafias have a special place in South Asian society. Not because we are innately drawn towards violence, which can “sometimes” be the case, but also that our mainstream entertainment has put an extra effort to create an appetite for it. From Bollywood to Lollywood we have seen the glorification of gangsters, and an apologist stance by depicting their personal struggles. Apart from the exaggeration which is a crucial part of entertainment (mostly commercial) there is some truth in those stories too. Recently our reporter, while working on a different article, bumped into a hitman. His story is so fascinating and dramatic that it would be unfair to not present it to the world
His story is presented as a verbatim account For privacy purposes all the names of individuals have been changed. Enjoy.
PG reporter : Please introduce yourself. Hitman : My name is Khurram, I’m 44 years old and I have been involved in approximately 43 killings throughout my life. I don’t do this anymore because I have a family now, and I’m not dependent on the quick cash
PG: Tell us about your childhood? Hitman: When I was around 13 I hit my stepfather with a hammer and ran away. My real father died young, so my mother had to marry my uncle. He was very abusive towards me. So one day out of rage I broke his forehead with a hammer; my plan was to kill him but he survived the injury and I had no other option but to get out of that place.
PG: After you ran away from home then what happened? Hitman: I didn’t know anything about the world when I left Laiyah. In addition to this, I was a child with angry and impatient behavioural tendencies. I landed at Sheikhupura bus adad (stand) where I met a group of bus drivers. They provided me with food, shelter and some clothes but things got bad when one of the members started sexually abusing me. This went on for years, after two years I made peace with it. I’m not saying I didn’t resist because I did try to run away but I had nowhere to go.
PG: From a runaway to a hitman, where exactly did things change for you? Hitman: Eventually I met this man named Abid , he was a bus driver but worked for local gangs as a pimp. He asked me if I can assist him in a small robbery and I agreed. I was done with being a sexual toy for bus drivers, so I looked at this as an opportunity for me to get out of this mess. That one robbery changed my whole life. I started living with Abid‘s family and they were unlike anyone I have met so far in my life, back then Abid was really nice and caring. I was part of their family. In 1996, Abid and a gang member had a consignment to kill an advocate. We traveled to Khanewal to a farmhouse where this advocate was staying, we had to be cautious because the Bar Council chairman was staying with him. Aliyas and I stayed outside while Abid and his brother-in-law went into the farmhouse. Everything was going smoothly until the guard saw us and started screaming. Aliyas took out his knife and ran towards him. I panicked. The Guard tried to approach with his gun but I got a hold of it and shot him in the face. I was drenched in my sweat and his blood. Aliyas was shouting my name but I couldn’t hear anything. Abid came out immediately and we ran away from the crime scene. From that day on I never feared anything, which cost me a lot. I killed people for lawyers, businessmen, film tycoons and politicians. Abid smuggled weapons from military drills and we used to sell them.
PG: When did you stop? Hitman: After Abid died in a road accident, things changed immediately. He was my manager sort of. Eventually I met my wife who was a dancer at that time. Her name is Khushbakt and we’ve been married for 20 years now. After my first child I moved to Lahore, I invested in sugar and textile industries in Faisalabad and now I’m in a better place financially, mentally and spiritually.
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