Eighth anniversary of APS tragedy marked in KP

PESHAWAR: Amid protest by some annoyed parents, the eighth anniversary of the Army Public School (APS) tragedy was observed in the provincial capital and elsewhere in the province on Friday.

Some 147 people, including 131 students, were martyred in the terrorist attack on the school on December 16, 2014. The main function to mark the day was arranged on the premises of the APS, which was attended by a large number of parents and family members of the martyrs, students and teachers of the school and representatives of the armed services.

The function was started with a salute to the martyrs of the tragedy followed by anthems and skits presented by students to pay homage to the students and teachers whose blood was shed on this day eight years ago. Quran Khwani was arranged for the souls of the martyrs.

A light refreshment was arranged for the participants of the event. No prominent figure from the military as well as the political setup turned up to attend the event, which angered the martyrs’ families and they started showing their concern.

Some 20-25 families of the martyred students started expressing their reservations, which turned into a formal protest. Initially they were not happy with the absence of the chief minister of the province and the corps commander, but later some more points were added to their concerns.

The protesting parents went out of the school premises and reached the main Khyber Road which they blocked for vehicular traffic. “We blocked the road at 10:30am and reopened it for general traffic at 3pm after some assurances by the district administration to accept our demands,” said Ajoon Khan, one of the parents, who was at the forefront of the protest.

About their demands, he said that they wanted a public holiday on December 16 in the memory of the martyrs. They also stressed presence of at least the corps commander on such occasions in the honour of their children who laid their lives on the ill-fated day of terrorist attack on the APS, he said.

The protest of the parents forced the provincial government to assure them that at least 2 hours would be specified in every educational institution of the province for the APS martyrs on December 16 to offer fateha and pay homage to the martyrs.

More functions were held in other parts of the provincial capital and the province to pay tributes to the martyrs. One such function was arranged at Shaheed Sher Shah Khattak Higher Secondary School Dag Ismail Khel in Nowshera district.

Sher Shah was among the 131 students martyred in the tragedy. Quran Khwani was offered for the departed soul of Sher Shah. Later, the students and teachers as well as the parents of Sher Shah visited his grave and offered dua for him.

In Peshawar, a candlelight vigil was observed at the memorial for the martyrs. Some civil society organizations also arranged fateha khawani for the martyrs. The Cantonment Board Peshawar had hung portraits of the martyrs on the streetlight poles on all the roads of the cantonment area.

Members of Pakistan Hindkowan Tehreek arranged a peace walk in the city to pay homage to the martyrs of the APS tragedy. The participants of the walk were holding banners and placards. The walk was led by chairman of the organization Saqaf Yasir.

Meanwhile, a function was also arranged at Parachinar in Kurram tribal district to pay homage to the martyrs of the APS attack. Local tribal elders and schoolchildren attended the function. Speaking on the occasion, the local elders, including Abid Hussain, Syed Taqqi Shah and others, said that the nation would always remember the sacrifices of the children who were martyred in the APS attack.