In an interview with CNN aired today, Pakistani actor and singer Ali Zafar spoke about December 16, 2014, the dark day that was the Peshawar school massacre.

Speaking about how his parents were educationalists, Ali reveals perhaps that was the reason that the tragedy affected him even more: "I canceled my tours and concerts and couldn't gather myself to do much in coming weeks."

A little over a month after the heinous attack, the singer united the film fraternity on one common platform in the video of his song, Urain Ge, a touching tribute to the victims.

"We all got together because we all want a progressive, peaceful, tolerant and positive Pakistan. And the response to the song and video further solidified my belief that every Pakistani wants the same. They just need someone to show them the way. And to me, education is the way forward. It's the the key to progress and peace," said the Kill Dil star.

Read also: Ali Zafar tugs at heartstrings with 'Urain Ge'

Pakistan is misrepresented

The singer went on to talk about how there's a lot more to Pakistan than what people get to see and the extremist minority taints the image of the nation. He believes Pakistan is a nation that wants to live in harmony and the singer urges the global community to lend a hand.

"Pakistan needs your help. It has been fighting this battle for years and lost countless lives in the process. Its economy has also suffered. The world needs to see Pakistan in a whole different light to help us out of this darkness. They need to partner with us towards progress," explains Zafar.

Taking action

Realizing that a step towards developing a better education system was imperative, Ali took it in his stride to do exactly that.

Zafar revealed: "I collaborated with a leading Pakistani educational non-profit organization, The Citizens Foundation (TCF) and 141schools.org (141 SCHOOLS), a new citizen web movement. Together, they are building 141 schools across Pakistan."

"Each school will be dedicated to the children and teachers who lost their lives in attack on December 16, 2014. All proceeds from the downloads of the song will go towards building schools for the children of Pakistan and ensuring a bright future," he added

Divulging that the cost of each school is Rs. 20.7 million ($202,900), Ali issued a call to action for anyone who would want to donate towards the process.