I was just a child

I, Manahil Khan, was an ordinary girl living in Karachi. I used to study at a school there. I was only 12 years old in total. I lived at home with my father. My father was a police officer. He was framed in a false case. A case of treason. My father was a loyal and honest officer.

That day I was at home with my father. My mother had passed away while giving birth to me. Because of that, apart from my father, my entire family considered me a burden. That day my father had made carrot halwa. We were both sitting at the table eating. I was insisting on eating more. If I had known that this was the last meal with him, I would have eaten peacefully. But I sat there being stubborn. I guess I had the right to be stubborn. After all, I had been raised with so much love. There was no demand of mine that was ever left unfulfilled.

That day, suddenly the police came to our door. It was 12 o'clock at night.

Our house door was knocked on loudly.

We had just opened the door when seeing the police officer standing there, my soul left my body.

He was the same uncle... who worked with my father at the office.

I had been calling him "uncle" since childhood. Many times he had even sat me on his lap and given me chocolate.

Happily I ran and hugged him—

"Uncle! You here?"

But the very next moment he grabbed me by the arm and pushed me back.

"Stay away!"

His voice was thundering, and there was hatred in his eyes.

"I didn't expect this from you people! You turned out to be wolves in sheep's clothing! Search the house! See what else he has besides treason!"

My father's face turned pale.

"At least tell us what we have done? For what crime is our house being searched in the middle of the night? I have never committed such a crime!"

His voice was trembling, but his dignity remained intact.

"Treason? How can I be a traitor? I have always been loyal to my uniform!"

Then an officer came out from inside the house carrying a black bag.

The bag was opened...

Inside were rifles, pistols, bullets — nothing but weapons.

The officer lifted that bag up and showed it to everyone.

"Look at this! You are selling illegal weapons, and you say you are loyal? Mr. Altaf Khan, you are being taken into custody!"

My heart sank.

"And your daughter will also remain in custody until you are proven innocent."

"Arrest them! Take both of them away!"

---

I wanted to scream, but my voice got stuck in my throat.

What is happening?

Is my father really...?

No! This is a lie! This is a conspiracy!

But no one listened to my father.

And both of us were dragged and made to sit in the police van.

Then I started crying. I cried the whole night. I was kept in jail with my father. They beat my father the entire night. My father was screaming and kept saying again and again, "I did nothing. I did nothing. I don't know anything about those guns. I don't know who placed them in my house or where they came from. And please, just send my child out of here. What is her fault? I did nothing. I did nothing. I was framed. I was framed. Please send my child out of here. What effect will this have on her mind?"

But the police officers, who had always worked with him, were not willing to listen to a single word he said. And after that they kept beating him until morning, and in the morning they left him there injured. No doctor came, no one came to give us food. And on top of that they were telling us, "If you don't give a confession, we will kill both of you right here."

Then by evening I developed a high fever. I was writhing in fever. I had neither eaten anything nor drunk anything. So to save my life, my father gave a false confession. After that, a doctor was called for me.

At that time I was sensible enough to understand what was going on here. After all, I wasn't 4 or 5 years old, I was 12. I was about to become an adult too.

That was when I decided I would take revenge on them.

When I was released from there, I kept staring at that belt for a long time. At that moment, looking at that belt, I felt like tying up all the police officers in one line and beating them with it so much that they would never dare to mistreat anyone else again. After all, we were human beings too and we breathed.

I couldn't bear it when I saw someone hit an animal in front of me. And they had beaten my father so mercilessly in front of me. And I just kept crying and wailing.

And that same day I decided... I will take revenge on them...

Writer :M:F

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