What if heaven was unprepared for the little souls of Peshawar?

I don’t know what happens to souls when people die, it is believed that they go to a place called heaven, paradise. But what if heaven is unprepared, what if heaven says,

“Oh beautiful souls of Peshawar, your time is not yet, you need to live some more, you are young, you are innocent, you are angels in human form, you embody goodness, you are the ambassadors of heaven, your fieldwork on man’s earth is not done yet. God sent you down for a reason, because you are perfect, you have the capacity to do wonders, you are so beautiful, there are so many who love you, your PARENTS want you back, your city wants you back, your country wants you back, the world wants you back.”

The children look at heaven’s gate and say,

“But we have nowhere else to go, the winged angels that brought us here said this is our home now.”

Rayaan (heaven’s gate) opened wide, there was soulful music and billions of souls gathered around to welcome the contingent, led by the youngest. The large contingent was wearing school uniforms; they walked in silence, their heads held high. And then a soul standing on the side felt wetness in its eyes, on its cheek. Tears, but that is a phenomenon of the body and not the soul. The soul looked up to see billions of souls wiping their eyes. And then the soul looked down to see billions wiping their eyes on man’s earth. Today we cry together.

The large contingent left for heaven, arrived at heaven, was given a hero’s welcome at heaven, but how did we treat them here, in man’s world?

I am a parent, you are a parent, and I sometimes wonder if politicians can ever be parents, in the real sense?

They may give birth to little humans but do they actually feel the emotions of a parent, tears, heartache, protection of its young and, most of all, undying and unconditional love?

Do they feel the need to protect the young? Do they?

Today I need answers to these questions.

We have had heinous school shooting incidents in the US, and other countries around the world where the perpetrators were lone wolves. And though these incidents were gut wrenching every time, we still must accept the reality that lone wolves can slip through the cracks and can be overlooked by the society and the government. But the crime committed in Pakistan on Black Day does not fall in the same category. Pakistan claims to have the sixth largest army in the world, Pakistan claims to have an elected government, Pakistan claims to have a viable opposition, Pakistan claims to know who the insurgents are, Pakistan claims to know what the problem is, and the Pakistan I come from knows how to solve this problem; it just doesn’t want to.

There are organised terrorist organisations running amuck in Pakistan, they are ugly and have the audacity to walk on the streets of Pakistan in broad daylight. With the sixth largest army in the world, how is that even happening? How is that acceptable? And this is where I give the disclosure that the civil services are thought useless, hence my reference to the army.

How do terrorist organisations become so organised, who is letting them become this organised? And if this is not the time for cleansing then when is it? They massacred our children today, they made it personal, they hit us where it hurts the most, they broke the spirit of every Pakistani today, every Pakistani. I, like millions of Pakistanis, shed tears today the way I did when my parents died. That is how much it hurt and more.

When children bleed, the country has failed. When children are left unprotected, the government, provincial and federal, must be held accountable. When the entire civilian population of a country cries a river, it is time for introspection. When there are tears in heaven, it is a very sad day on man’s Earth.

God bless the souls who left us yesterday and grant their families the strength to bear this loss.
WE, as your elders, should have protected you; it was our job.

We failed you.