Horse and Cattle Show: Peshawar school attack re-enacted

Some performances had to be cancelled due to rain on the third day.

LAHORE:

Performances on the third day of the Horse and Cattle Show included a re-enactment of scenes from the attack on the Army Public School, Peshawar.

The part where soldiers overpower the attackers received a huge round of applause from the audience.

The performance was delayed due to a power supply breakdown in the evening.

The chief guest for the evening performances was Lahore Corps Commander Lt General Naveed Zaman.

A large crowd had gathered at the Fortress Stadium to witness the performances on the third day. The organisers had to close the entrances in the evening leaving many with gate passes unable to enter the stadium.

Inside, the crowd remained steadfast despite the inconvenience caused by rain that continued till late in the afternoon.

The sitting area was only partially covered with tents on the back. Those sitting in the open on the front were left with no option but to rush back as the rain began.

Arguments were witnessed between some youngsters seeking shelter during the rain and the police at Gate No2.

Some of the youths were trying to get into the adjacent sitting area where there were empty seats under tents. The police were insistent that they leave the stadium and use the entrance to that section to reach the seats.

Some Rangers’ officials later joined the brawl. The group was eventually allowed to cross over to the other section.

Muhammad Ishaq from Kasur and Danyal Ahmed, a student from the Government Science College, were amongst those left soaking under the rain as there was no space left to accommodate more people in the covered area. They questioned the lack of covered space considering weather had been wet for several days now and in view of the forecast. “It seems the show was planned without taking into consideration the weather forecast for the weekend,” they said.

Major events on the third day were a folk dance, parade of cattle, performances by the military band, a dog race and floats carrying replicas of buildings and objects from four provinces, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).

Pakistani Ranger’s parade was the highlight of the day. The participants of the parade received a round of applause by the crowd as they marched forward and backward while beating the drums. The parade consisted of 926 steps and 160 movements.

Acting Governor Rana Iqbal was the chief guest for the daytime performances.

Some of the events had to be cancelled due to the rain. These included horse and camel dance performances, horse and camel tent pegging competitions and motorcycle stunts the Military Police.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 8^th, 2015.