Mourners gather at APS, resolve to fight terror

Men, women and children visit the army-run school to offer prayers for those killed in the attack

PESHAWAR: Thousands flocked to Army Public School in Peshawar on Sunday to mourn the 149 people - mainly children - massacred by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and demand action against militants.

Men, women and children from Peshawar and other cities visited the army-run institution to offer prayers for those killed in the country's deadliest-ever terror attack.

Mourners placed flowers, bouquets, placards and lighted candles at various places in the school in front of photos of murdered students.

Masons laid bricks and poured cement to raise the height of the wall around the Army Public School as mourners chanted slogans such as "Death to terrorists", "Long live Pakistan Army", "The blood of martyrs will not go waste" and "Taliban are savages".

"What kind of a person can kill a child?" asked local resident Imdad Hussain, who came to pray for the children.

"What kind of justice is this, what kind of Islam is this?" he asked, urging the government swiftly to wipe out terrorists.

A woman said parents had thought their sons and daughters would be safe in school. But now they believed their children were not safe anywhere.

"First they attacked mosques, then markets and now they have started attacking schools. We cannot tolerate this. We can die, but we will not let our children be killed," she said.

Shugufta Bibi, 28, told AFP her friend lost his son in Tuesday's attack and she had come to pay respects to his memory.

"I demand that the government close in on the terrorists and hang them in public," Bibi said.