Unfinished Home, Broken Dreams: Pakistani Worker Killed in Riyadh Airport Attack

ISLAMABAD: When a fellow villager returned from Saudi Arabia to offer condolences, Aziz Ullah Khan was confronted with the painful reality of a homecoming that would never happen, and a home his son had promised to complete but never would.

His son, 38-year-old Rizwanullah, was killed on October 11 during a Houthi attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, where he worked as a porter. Driven by a desire to escape the poverty of his native village in northwestern Pakistan, Rizwanullah had sought a better life in the Gulf, dreaming of building a brick home for his family and securing an education for his children.

His tragic death brought the devastating consequences of the renewed conflict between Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement directly to a family reliant on remittances sent from abroad. Saudi Arabia hosts approximately 2.7 million Pakistani expatriates and remains Pakistan’s primary source of workers’ remittances.

“If my son had returned, my children would have rushed out to greet him, and I would have embraced him. Instead, my son has been returned to the soil,” said Aziz Ullah, a 62-year-old farmer, speaking with Arab News.

Rizwanullah is survived by his widow, two young sons aged eight and four, a one-year-old daughter, and elderly parents who depended heavily on his earnings.

The family resides in Aleman village, located in the mountainous upper Salarzai region of Bajaur district, near Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan. Due to extremely limited local employment opportunities, villagers—including Rizwanullah and his brother—have been forced to seek work in the Gulf.

Saudi authorities confirmed that the October 11 airport attack resulted in the death of one Pakistani national and injuries to eleven others. This strike followed a separate attack the previous day that killed 13 people and wounded over 300, severely disrupting flights at a major hub utilized by workers, business travelers, and Muslim pilgrims.

The Houthis, who control large parts of northern Yemen, have been battling the Saudi-backed government for years. Hostilities escalated again in July after a period of relative calm following a UN-brokered truce in 2022, adding another front to the broader regional conflict involving the United States, Israel, and Iran.

The security threat has persisted since Rizwanullah’s death. On Sunday, Saudi-led coalition officials reported intercepting two ballistic missiles targeting the southern city of Khamis Mushayt, as well as a drone in the Riyadh region. Meanwhile, coalition airstrikes have continued against Houthi targets in Yemen.

UNFINISHED HOME

For Aziz Ullah, the profound loss is symbolized by the unfinished walls of the house his son had hoped to build.

“He started building a house, but currently, not even half of it is complete—only one-fifth is finished. The rest remains undone out of necessity, because we did not have the money,” Aziz Ullah explained.

Construction came to a halt last year when the family ran out of funds. Rizwanullah had promised to purchase more bricks to resume the work.

“He used to give me immense courage, saying, ‘Baba, don’t worry about anything. I am sending money, I will buy bricks for you, and God willing, you will build this house.’ But death did not grant him the time, and he passed away,” his father recalled, his voice heavy with grief.

Such remittances are vital for everyday expenses, schooling, and construction in households across Pakistan. In September alone, workers in Saudi Arabia sent home $899.1 million, according to Pakistan’s central bank—funds that sustain families while providing crucial foreign currency to the nation.

When news of the airport attack reached the family, Rizwanullah’s brother, Muhammad Tahir, who works in Jeddah on Saudi Arabia’s western coast, immediately set out for Riyadh.

Tahir recounted driving for ten hours, as flights were unavailable in the wake of the strikes, and admitted he had feared the worst from the beginning.

“When I arrived in Riyadh, I learned he had been martyred at the airport,” Tahir told Arab News.

Rizwanullah’s remains were repatriated to Pakistan last week. Thousands of mourners traveled along dusty, unpaved mountain roads to attend his funeral prayers in Bajaur.

HIS CHILDREN’S FUTURE

Rizwanullah had maintained regular contact with his friend and relative, Ismail Jamal. They had spoken just three days before his death, catching up on news from home and mutual friends.

“When I heard the news of his martyrdom, the ground slipped from under my feet, and the entire world turned upside down for me,” Jamal said, expressing his deep shock.

Jamal noted that the grief was shared widely among expatriate workers from various nations who knew Rizwanullah in Saudi Arabia.

“It wasn’t just the people of his own region or those from around where he was staying. Everyone, even people from India and Bangladesh, was crying after him,” Jamal said. “Neither do I feel at peace, nor can I believe that he has been martyred.”

Jamal has appealed to both the Pakistani and Saudi governments to assist in securing a future for Rizwanullah’s children, particularly regarding their education.

“Every person desires for their children to receive an education, a good education, and to achieve a good standing in life. We appeal to our government and the government of Saudi Arabia to take action so that the future of his children can be set on the right track,” he urged.

For Aziz Ullah, his son’s final, comforting words continue to echo in his mind.

Rizwanullah had learned his father was short on funds and had promised to send money within a day or two.

“I found out that you don’t have expense money, so I am sending it,” his father recalled him saying in their last phone call. “That was what he said to me, and that very conversation is what keeps coming back to my mind.”

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