A prayer for Lahore

Another black day was marked in the history of Pakistan, when 72 innocent lives were taken in a dastardly attack on a park. This time, the victim of terrorism was the throbbing heart of Punjab — Lahore.

It was a just another Sunday evening. Children, as usual, were excited to visit a park full of swings with their parents. Nobody knew it would turn out to be a bloody evening. In a matter of seconds, smiling faces were turned into either bloody ones, or teary-eyed ones.

Wounds of the Peshawar Army Public School attack were still fresh in the minds of citizens. Yet they had to bear the pain of another horrific incident. The majority of the victims of the Lahore attack were women and children. Innocent children — who wanted to spend a nice day with their family and loved ones.

Moments later, after the attack, #prayforlahore started trending worldwide. People expressed their thoughts and sent out prayers for the victims. World leaders came together and messages started pouring in. Celebrities, artists and politicians, everyone paid tributes to the victims in their own respective manner.

However, the question still remains: is this enough? What about the teary eyes of mothers that would take years to dry? Will they get their children back and does this answer their question: “why our innocent children?”

The government, again, has made promises to eliminate terrorism from Pakistan. The law enforcement authorities have also launched a crackdown in Punjab after the deadly blast. Let us hope and pray together, that this country or any other never has the misfortune to see a day of darkness such as this again.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 2^nd, 2016.