Mothers of APS victims share experiences of grief

Exhort govt to establish more educational institutions

PESHAWAR: While mothers of the Army Public School (APS) carnage victims appreciated the government for its efforts to commemorate their children—proposing a university and naming schools—they called for the establishment of more educational institutions.

They said education was the only way to fight terrorism and made this demand at an experience-sharing meeting arranged by Peace Education and Development (PEAD) Foundation at University Town Peshawar. This was stated in a handout issued on Monday; the programme was held under the aegis of PEAD’s Women Peace Builders Network (Khawateen Aman Ittehad).



According to the document, the meeting was called to pay tribute to the mothers who not only survived the trauma, but also remained engaged to fight for justice and uphold the memories of their children.

PEAD Foundation programme manager Shagufta Khalique pledged to stand in solidarity with the families of the victims. She said Women Peace Builders Network aimed at maximum participation of women in the peace-building process. “It is necessary to engage women who are direct or indirect victims of terrorism,” she added.

The handout quoted the late Asfand Khan’s mother Shahan Ajun as saying, “The entire year has been one of the most difficult times for me as a mother since I am now recognised as Asfand Shaheed’s mother.”



Falaknaz, the mother of late Noorullah said after losing two of her sons, a persistent void had taken over her life. “Now when people come to me and talk about my sons, I realise they were dear to society and it makes me very proud,” the document quoted her as saying.

The late Ghasan’s mother commented the tragedy has brought all the mothers close to one another. “We sit, we talk about our children and it is surprising to know our children were so similar to each other,” she said.

According to the handout, district councillor Rabia Basri praised the courage of the families and said the APS incident harks back to the sacrifice of Hazrat Imam Hussain (RA) at Karbala.

Psychiatrist Dr Sadia Shafique suggested the loss was undoubtedly great for all the parents, but it was also time to pay attention to people still with us.

The handout also mentioned a video message by Norwegian writer Nina Hanssen that was shared with the participants on the occasion. Hanssen expressed solidarity with the families of victims and motivated them to move ahead to support the cause of peace building.



At the occasion, the parents of all victims said barring some insensitive people, the nation had supported them during this traumatic time.

The meeting ended with a collective prayer for the victims and a pledge to strengthen the peace process in the region.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 22^nd, 2015.