Saeed Haider
Saudi Gazette
DHAHRAN – Students and teachers of several international schools in the Kingdom on Wednesday mourned the victims of Tuesday's Peshawar carnage in which at least 148 children and staff members of an army public school were massacred by terrorists.
Although all the schools functioned normally, most of them held special assemblies to mourn the victims by observing a two-minute silence.
At Pakistan International School in Al-Khobar, the school management expressed their deep anguish over the tragedy and prayed for all the victims.
"The best homage to the martyrs of the Peshawar carnage was to excel in education and fight such nefarious elements through our strength of knowledge," one teacher said.
At Indian International Indian School in Dammam a special assembly was held to express solidarity with the students in Pakistan.
"We share their pain and deplore the dastardly crime against humanity," said school managing committee Chairman Abdullah Manjeri.
The assembly observed a two-minute silence as a mark of respect for the victims.
Several other international schools also observed a two-minute silence to express their solidarity with Pakistani students.
In Riyadh, a special morning assembly was held at the Pakistan International School's English Section to condemn the massacre.
Muhammad Tanveer, acting principal, invited students and teachers to share their feelings on the massacre. Muhammad Raza Ali, Hammad Ismail, Abdul Munim and Rohan Manzoor, speaking on behalf of the students, denounced the atrocity and said “cowardly” attacks could not affect the school’s “confidence and unity”.
Tanveer said: “This is a crime against humanity. The massacre of innocent children reflects nothing but the evilness, brutality and cowardly actions of the terrorists.
“All the words that one can use to describe this tragedy are empty but our hearts are filled with tears.
“Everyone, despite the differences in nationalities, religion, sects or creeds, feels the pain of this tragic incident. May Allah bless our homeland and our people with peace, safety and security.”
At the end of the assembly there was a collective prayer for the victims. The Pakistani community in the Eastern Province, which was in deep shock and disbelief, got up this morning with extreme anger and anguish over the lack of security and spread of fanaticism in their country.
In areas where there is concentration of Pakistani community, people on the roadside, at cafes and markets were seen discussing the massacre. They all agreed that it was about time to face reality and wipe out terrorism from the country.
"They take the garb of religion and kill our own people," said an angry Tufail Orakzai, a resident of Peshawar who claimed that he knew few of the victims but was elusive in divulging their identities.
Sameera Yusuf, a housewife who hails from Lahore, was in tears. "What kind of Islam these terrorists are projecting? This is not Islam. I am convinced they are worshippers of devil. It is a shame for the country, the government and to all of us," she said.
Ghazanfar Ali from Islamabad demanded the immediate hanging of all terrorists lodged in different jails in Pakistan.
"Let us wipe out this menace from our country once and for all. We must come out of our denial mode and accept the harsh reality that Pakistan has become a breeding ground for terrorists and the country itself is their biggest victim."
Samina Rizvi from Karachi blamed the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for this tragedy and believed that the country could only be peaceful under army rule.
Riaz Ahmad, also from Karachi, said with this tragedy Pakistan has lost its credibility in the international community and has exposed its internal conflict. "The country is in a shambles," he said.
Many parents who have sent their children to their home country for higher education said this incident has created a sense of horror among them and they feel that their children are extremely vulnerable to such acts and could prove a soft target for terrorists.
