“No doubt, the militants killed our innocent fellow friends and teachers, but they cannot kill our spirit,” was the bold response of many surviving students and victim parents of the recent Peshawar school attack.

“My 9th grader son Shaheed Azaan Turialai once in a school ‘stage play’ had acted out the role of an army captain who was supposed to save schoolchildren in the face of a militant attack. Turialai only re-enacted his part in reality this time. Turialai, which means ‘brave’ in Pashto, lived up to his nickname,” remarked Suhail Rehman, a retired army officer.

The Dec 16 militant attack on the Army Public School (APS), Peshawar, which claimed the lives of about 140 students and nine staff members, forced us to stand united in grief. Earlier, militants had blown up about 800 schools in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Fata forcing a large number of boys and girls to study in makeshift schools despite the vagaries of weather. Children of internally displaced persons have no option, but to suffer in abject poverty. Parents are resilient to send them to schools.

People from all walks of life, hundreds of surviving students , teachers and aggrieved parents daily visit the APS and present tribute to the slain children and condemn the massacre of innocent students and teachers. Most demand coveted national award (Nishan-i- Haider) for all those who embraced martyrdom in the incident.

“I have come to APS today to pay respect to my Shaheed friend Abid Khan, 9th grader. He was a brave boy. I visited his parents in Swat a few days ago. They were in distress but had not lost courage. I feel proud that my friend embraced martyrdom for the nation. Like Shaheed Abid, other slain students and teachers too made a great sacrifice,” Rafiq Jan, a resident of Tehkal Bala, Peshawar, said.

Schoolchildren in Peshawar have been exposed to numerous violent incidents. With every militant attack, be it on a market, mosque, church and restaurant, and now on a school, the people of Peshawar have shown resilience and their firm resolve to fight back gets a renewed strength.

A young army officer deputed for contacting the victim families said: “I have walked up to every single victim family from Chitral, Swat, Dir, Swabi and Charsadda to Karak and DI Khan. I found all of them highly motivated and in a good spirit. Losing young children is indeed a great national loss. It is heartening to say that the victim families were proud of their Shaheed wards. The Pakistan Army is fully determined to root out militancy in all its forms and manifestations.”

“Come what may, I will go to my beloved school. My six friends are no more with me but I shared their cherished dreams. If I cannot become all they had planned, at least I can carry on their dreams. Maybe, I am able to fulfil one and achieve the target they had set for themselves,” says injured Anas Khan, 8th grader.

Shaheed principal of APS, Tahira Qazi, remained associated with the school for 20 years. She was known for being a noble and brave lady. She did not make a single call to her home when the tragedy struck at her school. She was not concerned about her own safety. She remained busy calling worried parents.

The brave principal took several rounds of various classes asking children to quietly follow her. When she hid enough of them, a militant in the middle of rain of bullets confronted and blurted out, ‘where have you hidden the children?’ ‘I am their mom, tell me what do you want’ was the prompt reply. ‘Then get killed’, the militant retaliated instantly.

Ahmad Qazi, younger son of Tahira Qazi, says her brave mother set an example for all of them. Her martyrdom gave us a new vision and strength. “Militants may cause us physical harm, but they cannot defeat our souls. I am really proud of my mother who helped saved more than 50 little angels from being killed,” Mr Qazi says with beaming face.

Actually, killing schoolchildren is not the first incident in Peshawar. Way back in late 80s, about 30 young students had lost their lives in a bomb blast at a bus stand near a government school in Garhi Qamardin town, on Kohat Road, Peshawar. On Oct 28, 2009, a car bomb perished 137 women and children in Peshawar’s famous Meena Bazaar frequented mostly by women. Similarly, on Sept 22, 2013, yet another brutal attack, on a church in Peshawar city, mowed down about 200 people of Christian community, again with a large number of women and children when they had assembled for Sunday service.

Initially, the militant attack on APS on Dec 16, 2014 had sent a wave of shock among small students of 20 other schools located on the same route. Parents were too in trauma while teachers seemed recoiling to perform duty at the schools. But soon resilience overcame their trauma.

Shakeela Khattak, a junior teacher who miraculously survived unhurt in the APS attack, says that she has lost her two colleagues Sadia Gul Shahzad Khattak and Hajira Khan Khattak in the attack, but her resolve to continue teaching is unwavering. “I am fully determined to resume teaching at APS as soon as it reopens with new zeal and spirit. The tragic incident has strengthened us from within. We need to translate and transmit this spirit to our next generation,” she vowed.

The small surviving students Michal and Afrasiab Khan are not behind anyone when it comes to brave the tragic loss of their 8th grader brother, Sahibzada Umar. He had faked an ache on that fateful day, but later he changed his mind. “OK mom, I will go to school. I am alright.” “With every assault of militants, our self-esteem boosts up. We feel stronger than ever before,” said the young siblings to show their resolve.

Published in Dawn, January 4th, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play