MQM, PTI hold separate events to pay tribute to APS victims

PTI organised a candle light vigil, while MQM paid tribute by organising a prayer event at their offices

KARACHI: In order to pay tribute to the victims of the Army Public School (APS), Peshawar massacre, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) minority wing organised a candle light vigil at the Karachi Press Club on Friday. Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) -Pakistan also paid tribute by organising a prayer event at their offices across Pakistan, while a major event was held at their temporary office in PIB Colony.

PTI workers, along with civil society members, held candles in remembrance of the 144 children who lost their lives on December 16, 2014, while also lauding the efforts of the army.

“We are gathered here to remember those who sacrificed their lives for us,” said minority wing secretary-general Jai Prakash. This day should be remembered as a symbol of unity as the children’s sacrifice united the nation, he added.

PTI leader Haleem Adil Sheikh criticised the federal government and said that the army and other law enforcers cannot remove the menace of terrorism alone.

MQM-Pakistan convener Dr Farooq Sattar spoke at his party’s event and said that the children who lost their lives in the massacre are martyrs.

The government should analyse the reasons behind the incidents which have taken hundreds of innocent lives, he urged. Sattar added that these innocent children sacrificed their lives for a better tomorrow therefore we should come forward and make Pakistan a stable country.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 17^th, 2016.