PESHAWAR: Two years after the gruesome terror attack on the Army Public School (APS) on Warsak Road, many parents want the government to make the supreme sacrifice of their kids a base for promoting peace and education.
The second anniversary of the attack is going to be observed on December 16. A number of ceremonies are being held in Peshawar and other parts of the country to pay tributes to the martyred and injured students. “We don’t want any gains for ourselves or families. We want the federal and provincial governments to declare the APS victims national heroes and make their supreme sacrifice a base for ensuring durable peace and imparting education to every child,” Tufail Khattak, father of the martyred student Sher Shah Shaheed, told Media.
Sher Shah, a grade-10 student was present in the auditorium along with his brother, Ahmad Shah of grade-8 when the terrorists attacked the hall. Sher Shah ran towards his younger brother amid the indiscriminate fire to save him.
“Sher Shah sacrificed his life to protect his younger brother. The entire nation, particularly the young generation should draw inspiration from the sacrifice of Sher Shah,” said Tufail Khattak, who feels proud to be the father of a martyred student.
“Whenever I see the hustle and bustle on the University Road, Saddar and city, I feel proud that the security situation has improved a lot because of the sacrifices of our children. We have lost our kids but they helped bring back smiles on the faces of millions of people,” he pointed out.
Tufail Khattak’s younger son Ahmad Shah also sustained injuries and remained in shock for long after recalling the scenes he had witnessed in the auditorium on that fateful day.“We are working at the school named after Sher Shah Shaheed in our village in Nowshera district to create awareness among the people about the importance of education,” added Tufail Khattak.
Security across the provincial capital has been upgraded to avoid any untoward incident on the occasion of the second anniversary of the December 16, 2014 terrorist attack on the APS.According to a senior police official, search and strike operations have been carried out in Peshawar to arrest anti-social elements and militants.
As many as 147 people, including 132 schoolchildren, were martyred and a number of others were wounded when six terrorists broke into the APS and went on a shooting spree. They indiscriminately killed and wounded young students in classrooms, corridors and the auditorium.
The parents of the kids are still celebrating the birthdays of their martyred sons.The mothers of many children have kept the school bags and all the belongings of their slain sons to keep their memories alive. They regularly visit the graves of their martyred children.
The parents and friends of the slain students said they cannot forget their angelic faces. A number of schools in Peshawar and elsewhere in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the country have been named after the APS martyrs.Billboards carrying the pictures of all the APS martyrs have been displayed in various parts of Peshawar to pay tributes to them.
