A Pakistani teen who dreamed of becoming a doctor got his chance to save lives this week, although in a tragic way that was probably not what he envisioned.  Aitzaz Hassan was killed when he stopped a suicide bomber from entering the grounds of his school.

The bomber detonated the device at the school’s gates and Aitzaz died at hospital.  Hundreds of students were spared the bomber’s intent.  This happened in Hangu in Pakistan’s northwest, one of those places in the world where Sunni and Shi’a Muslims try to kill each other because of something that happened more than 1,300 years ago.

Aitzaz’s father is proud, though not in a way you’d hope.

“Many people are coming to see me but if they try to express sympathy, I tell them to congratulate me instead on becoming the father of a martyr,” said 55-year old Mujahid Ali Bangash.  “I will be even more than happy if my second son also sacrifices his life for the country.”

Meanwhile, a Pakistani police official known for hunting down Taliban militants died in a car bombing.  Karachi Police Inspector Chaudhry Aslam and two other officers died when a remote controlled bomb exploded next to them, a bomb big enough to tear apart their armored SUV.  Aslam frequently appeared on television with the weapons he confiscated from captured militants.