City marks APS anniversary with respectful silence

LAHORE:

Scores of people turned out for a ceremony arranged jointly by the district administration and the police, at Charring Chowk on Wednesday to mark the first anniversary of the terrorist attack at the Army Public School (APS), Peshawar.

The ceremony started with a rendition of the national anthem. It was followed by a minute’s silence during which traffic was stopped on all major roads including The Mall, Ferozpur Road, Gulberg’s Main Boulevard, Jail Road and Lower Mall.



Speaking to the media at the ceremony, DCO Capt (r) Muhammad Usman said the nation stood united in its support for Armed Forces’ efforts against terrorist outfits. The APS school children would never be forgotten, he said.

The DCO said special arrangements had been made at 75 locations in the city to observe a minute’s silence at the same time. He said directives had been issued to all town administrations to hold ceremonies to mark the first anniversary of the attack. He said they had been asked to play national anthem and patriotic songs at these ceremonies.

Operations DIG Haider Ashraf was also present at the ceremony. He said the police were committed to playing its role in making those responsible for the APS attack pay for their actions. “We are prepared to deal with any eventuality in our fight against terrorists. We have launched a crackdown against terrorist outfits. We will not let them harm our children now,” he said.



A large number of people from including government officials, representatives of civil society organizations and traders associations, sports personalities and artists were gathered at Faisal Chowk for the ceremony.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, Haris and his brother Bilal said they had come to express solidarity with the relatives of those who lost their lives in the attack. “The APS attack had left the entire nation in shock. We support Army’s  efforts to defeat terrorist outfits,” they said.

Maria, who said she was a mother and could understand the trauma of the parents who had lost their children in the attack, said it was hard to believe that someone could kill children.

The city remained in a somber mode as banners and posters with condolence messages were displayed on major roads and in markets. The district administration had put up a billboard carrying photos of those who lost their lives in the attack at at Faisal Chowk.



A parade would be held from Town Hall to the General Post Office (GPO) on Thursday (today) to officially close the week-long ceremonies to mark the first anniversary of the attack.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 17^th, 2015.