Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi has urged Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to confer a posthumous national civil award on 22-year-old Oun Abbas, who lost his life while resisting the suicide attacker who targeted an imambargah in Islamabad, it emerged on Thursday.

On February 6, a suicide bomber ripped through the Friday congregation at the Imambargah Qasr-i-Khadijatul Kubra on the outskirts of Islamabad. At least 38 people were killed in the incident, and more than 150 were injured.

According to eye witness accounts, Abbas, who was praying inside the hall, had abandoned his rituals and tried to tackle the attacker. However, he lost his life when the suicide bomber detonated.

In a letter addressed to the prime minister and dated Feb 11, a copy of which is available with Dawn, Kundi lauded the “exceptional gallantry and supreme sacrifice” displayed by Abbas.

“In those moments of terror and chaos, while many sought safety, this brave young man chose to confront the terrorist face to face,” Kundi said, stressing that the young man’s courage prevented “a far greater tragedy” and led to the “saving of countless innocent lives”.

“Tragically, he embraced martyrdom in this valiant effort,” he said.

The KP governor called on the prime minister to confer “a posthumous national civil award, such as the Sitara-i-Shujaat or Tamgha-i-Shujaat”.

He said that the award would “not only honour his memory with the dignity it deserves but would also serve as an enduring inspiration for the youth of Pakistan, affirming that courage, faith and sacrifice in service of one’s community are the truest expressions of Pakistani nationhood”.

The KP governor expressed faith that the prime minister would consider the recommendation with the “utmost priority and urgency it so clearly warrants and approve the award at the earliest possible instance as a fitting national tribute to his unparalleled courage and sacrifice”.

Kundi had made a similar request earlier this week during a visit to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims), where the injured remained under treatment.

It is worth mentioning that a day earlier, PM Shehbaz had announced a sum of Rs 10 million for the heirs of Abbas. The premier had also announced Rs5m for each person martyred in the attack; Rs3m for those critically injured and under treatment at the hospital; and Rs1m for those with minor injuries who had been discharged.