BALAKOT – The body of a five-year-old boy who went missing during the devastating 2005 earthquake was discovered 21 years later during excavation work at his family home in the Balakot area of Azad Kashmir.
According to reports, the child, identified as Jamal Shafiq, disappeared when the powerful earthquake struck on October 8, 2005. Believing he had died, his family had offered funeral prayers in absentia after extensive search efforts failed to locate his body.
The family searched for the child for a long time but eventually accepted his presumed death, although his parents never lost hope of finding him.
The remains were unexpectedly recovered while workers were excavating the site for the construction of a new house. The body was identified after clothing was found beneath the rubble.
Jamal’s father said the child had been buried under the debris when their house collapsed during the earthquake. Despite prolonged efforts, the family had been unable to recover his body at the time.
He said the remains were taken out, given proper funeral rites, and laid to rest in a nearby cemetery.
The grieving father said the recovery of his son’s body after 21 years had finally brought the family a sense of closure after decades of anguish.
