There is not a locality in the city which has not lost someone in yesterday’s dastardly attack on an army-run school which left 141 people, including 132 school children, dead.
Peshawar was a bruised city on Wednesday.
The streets wore a deserted look, with most parts of the city, including business districts and markets, shutdown in mourning.
Echoing with cries, last rites of children who died in the savage attack have been going on since late last night following the grisly attack, which took place at the Army Public School on Warsak Road.
Electricity poles from Khyber Bazaar, Qissa Khawni, Misgaran Bazaar, Chowk Yadgar and Bazaar Kalan to areas of the interior city were festooned with funeral announcements as I walked for funeral prayers of Yasirullah, a student of grade 8, and Zulqurnian, along with hundreds of locals.
The bodies of the two victims were later taken to the Wazir Bagh graveyard for burial.
Overcome with grief, the people who I spoke to broke down in tears, unable to describe the trauma.
Sher Khan, a resident of Wazir Bagh locality, said four children studying in APS from his area were among those killed.
“Two of them were buried last night, while the remaining two were buried today,” Sher said remorsefully.
Funeral prayers in absentia are being offered for victims by various organisations across the city and Quran Khawanis are planned for later in the day by political parties.
Earlier in the day top army brass and top provincial political functionaries gathered to offer funeral prayers in absentia for the victims of the school attacks.
But as prayers are being offered and bodies are being lowered, the grief and pain lives on.
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Also, just as in Libya and Syria where the US and its Persian Gulf allies funded terrorist fronts in bids to overthrow each nation's respective governments, this unholy alliance is working in Pakistan to create a militant front with which to menace political groups in Islamabad and reorder the country to reflect and serve their collective interests. And just as in Syria now, where the US feigns to be locked in battle with terrorists of their own creation, the fact that the US is funding their own enemy billions of dollars while allegedly fighting them in Afghanistan creates a perpetual conflict justifying their continued intervention in the region - overtly and covertly.
When a terrorist attack is carried out in Pakistan by the "Taliban," it must then be looked at through this lens of global geopolitical reality. Attempts by the media to reduce this recent attack to mere "extremism," preying on global audiences emotionally, provides impunity for the state-sponsors of the Taliban - those funding, arming, and directing their operations across the region, and then benefiting from their horrific consequences.
It appears, just as in Libya, Syria, and Iraq, the West and its allies are waging a proxy war in Pakistan as well. Attempts to exploit the tragedy in Peshawar compound this insidious agenda. Those across Pakistan's political landscape must understand that there is no line these foreign interests are unwilling to cross in achieving their agenda - be it a line crossed at a perceived ally's expense, or a perceived enemy's expense.
What difference does it make? We allowed this to happen. Does it matter if they were children from affluent families or if theattackers were wearing Army / FC uniforms. They shot a daughter of Pakistan Malala and many Pakistanis blamed her as a pawn of the West and sided with TTP & did * *we made this happen we have had many other terror attacks and we have brushed them aside. We do not have the will or the courage to face this enemy we can, we can pretend but besides a lot of hot talk, this too shall pass until the next time
@Qaim Shah and Rex Minor: There we go again with stupid conspiracy theories. The Talban have once again admitted their act, yet trust some nut to come up with a crazy conspricacy theory to shift the blame. This is what the nation kept doing that for the past few years and avoided going after real culprits. Now, fortunately most people recognize who their enemies are.
@Qaim Shah: well said; the terrorists were also aware that not only the children of military but civilians as well who could afford to study in the elite public school! The army on the other hand had no intelligence in advance of the operation?
Rex Minor
@qaim shah One should think before he talks. Majority of the children who were brutally slaughtered belonged to the army men. Most of the terrorists blew themselves up, so no one can tell if they were wearing army uniforms. Instead of making conspiracy theories how about you keep your illogical thoughts inside your head and let us mourn those children in peace. Do I need to remind you of the casualties and hardship the army had to suffer from during the rescue operation? People like you make me sick.
Reports that attackers were wearing Army / FC uniforms don't appear to be true, as can be seen from pics of attackers' bodies in media today. Secondly, the attack happened in a Cantt area which is controlled by the Army. Third, no measure to secure the area in a time of heightened terror threat due to ongoing Zarb-e-Azb.
Above signs may point to a false flag, for which the responsibility would go to the deepest levels of our security apparatus. Only if someone can investigate properly what happened on that tragic day.