Laid to rest: A day of mass burial

Excavator brought in to complete digging of graves in time.

PESHAWAR:

It was a busy day for the city’s gravediggers. But it took an excavator to ensure the deceased were laid to rest without any delays on Monday.

A portion of Gora Qabristan’s boundary wall had to be torn down to make way for the vehicle. Around 51 graves had been dug in the Victorian-era cemetery by evening, but only 23 deceased persons were laid to rest. The rest will be buried after bereaved relatives arrive from abroad and other parts of the country.



Many occupied coffins were kept at St John’s Church outside Kohati Gate for last rites. Later, some were shifted to the nearby Wazir Bagh cemetery, while others were buried at Gora Qabristan.

“We have buried around 23 [people] so far, but the number of graves is around 50,” Salamat Masih told The Express Tribune. He confirmed though some bodies were taken to different graveyards, most will be laid to rest at Gora Qabristan.

Strict security arrangements were in place at St John’s Church School and the adjacent church, while large contingents of police were also deployed at different graveyards. Salamat, however, said the security was meant for VIPs and not for the mourners burying their loves ones. “Our own volunteers had to check the belongings of visitors.”



Another local, Kiramat Masih alleged the government was trying to cover up and conceal the exact number of people killed in Sunday’s terror attack. He claimed at least 135 people had lost their lives, but the government was trying to downplay the figure. “Some churchgoers are still missing and their families are looking for them. They should also be considered dead after 36 hours since the attack.”

Kiramat said he buried three of his cousins on Monday. “Christians are a close-knit community and most of the dead were either my friends or neighbours,” he said. Despite the differences between Christians over their beliefs, “we are all relatives and friends,” he added.

Those killed in Sunday’s attack belonged to the All Saints’ Church, which falls under the Church of England. Kiramat is associated with the Church of Uttar Pradesh, which is associated with the Anglican Communion.

Names that came to nought

The list of the deceased includes names of 77 victims, as received by the Lady Reading Hospital.

• Laiba w/o Amir (female) • Marial (female) • Mather d/o Sharif (female)

• Mehak d/o Nisar (female) • Mehak d/o Javed (female) • Junaid d/o Javeed (female)

• Mona Naeem (female) • Nasreen w/o Naseem (female) • Neeha d/o Ansar Gauhar (female)

• Neelam Amir (female) • Raj Bibi w/o Mehboob Masih (female) • Rehana w/o Nazeer (female)

• Reshma d/o Sharif (female) • Sadia (female) • Saima (female) • Samnayee d/o Nazeer (female)

• Samreen d/o Sameer (female) • Sana (female) • Sania Masih d/o Nazeer Ahmad (female)

• Sania Sherazi d/o Naveed Sherazi (female) • Saweerey d/o Emmanuel Well (female)

• Shazia w/o Emmanuel Well (female) • Nadeem Akhtar s/o Emmanuel Well (male)

• Emmanuel Well (male) • Seema d/o Sharif (female) • Zara d/o Javeed (female)

• Zara Gul (female) • Zarmeena Kausar d/o William Masih (female) • S/O Tanveer (male)

• Alber Masih s/o Barkat Masih (male) • Ameen Sweeling (male)

• Arif Aziz (male) • Atham Nazeer (male) • Basheer s/o Wilayathi (male)

• Daud Shareef s/o Muhammad Shareef (male) • Faiz (male) • Javed Samail s/o Samail Masih (male)

• Joseph Masih s/o Fateh Din (male) • Kainat s/o Nisar (male) • Khalid Muh s/o Fakhruddin (male)

• Misal s/o Maqsood (male) • Mubashir s/o Daud (male)

• Naeem s/o Nazeer (male) • Nasir s/o Nazeer (male) • Nasir Nazeer (male)

• Naveed Sherazi s/o Rehmat Masih (male) • Nazeer (male) • Parvez s/o Inayat Masih (male)

• Riaz Masih s/o Siraj Masih (male) • Rofi William s/o Wilson (male)

• Sabir s/o Budhu Masih (male) • Saif Naeem (male) • Saindey Sabir s/o Sabir Masih (male)

• Saman Sabir s/o Sabir Masih (male) • Seetha Tanveer (male) • Shahrukh Hanif

s/o Hanif (male) • Shama w/o Naveed (female) • Shamshad s/o Sitam Well (male)

• Shareef Ghori (male) • Sheero s/o Waris (male) • Sherial s/o Musa Jan (male)

• Sifat Khan s/o Javed (male) • Tanveer s/o Shareef (male) • Wajid s/o Iqbal Masih (male)

• Waris (male) • Zahid Gul s/o Sahar Gul (male)

• Zarneesh Sabir s/o William Sabir (male) • Emmanuel Well (male)

• Jeeya Amir d/o Tooney (female) • Gama Bibi d/o Amanat Masih (female)

• Farida w/o Tanveer (female) • Eshan Gauhar d/o Ansar Gauhar (female)

• Dilraj d/o Nazeer (female) • Ayana d/o Azhaq (female) • Alishba Shareef (female)

• Zeshan s/o Amir (child) • Shamoon s/o Amir Masih (child)

*The names of six people had not been confirmed by the hospital until this report was filed.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 24^th, 2013.