The sunrise of 16th December, 2015, marked the completion of one year of one of the most painful events in the history of Pakistan. The day when kids went to school jocularly and came back in ambulances. The day when the kids of Army Public School, Peshawar, were targeted and killed in their very own school. The world of their parents was turned upside down. The place meant to be the cradle of knowledge was turned into a battlefield. The locality usually considered as safe was showered with blood and terror.
How can we forget those smiles, those roaring laughters, that innocence and the dreams in those eyes! Alas! Many scientists, artists, doctors and engineers of the future were laid to rest in a course of minutes.
While I write this, I find it difficult to gather my emotions and put them into words. I would like to pay tribute to those children, their brave teachers and their parents. May the Almighty serve them justice! May their sacrifices bear fruit in the near future! They have set the bar too high for others. They are the real warriors and the real champions. Rest in peace, dear flowers of paradise! Rest in peace, angels of the paradise!
In the meantime, we should promise that we will serve this country in the best possible manner and to the best of our abilities. We have to stand firm by our principles and act upon them. We have to play our part in the development of this state and help it rise and shine.
UMME AIMEN ABBASI
Islamabad