Daily Times

Peshawar: Ajun Khan, 50, a Peshawar resident, is the father of Asfand Khan, one of the 147 children whose lives were taken away by terrorists three years ago on December 16.

With teary eyes, Khan sits with his wife and other family members next to a framed photo of Asfand Khan, hoping the third anniversary of the tragedy may push the authorities to serve justice to the affected families.

Asfand’s mother hugs every woman visiting the family to offer condolences.

Remembering that bloody day, Ajun says he had never thought that he would send his son to school only to receive his son’s coffin later. Now, he says, the family’s only wish is to see justice being served in the case. “Since the very first day, we are demanding that a judicial commission be formed to investigate what enabled the terrorists to reach the school. The government has not taken our demand seriously. It is not willing to hear us out. Three years have passed but still we are waiting for justice,” he says.

He says the families demand that a judicial commission be formed on the pattern of those formed for the Model Town and Quetta massacre, and the results of their inquiry be made public. “We need an explanation for the weakness of our security system due to which the terrorists were able to get inside the school,” he says.

“Even the high court has not taken our pleas seriously. We will move the Supreme Court of Pakistan to get justice,” he says.

Khan says that he and other parents lost their children and only then the civil-military leadership got together to counter terrorism and extremism through the National Action Plan. “It’s now the responsibility of the country leadership to provide justice to the families of the APS martyrs,” he says.

Further, Khan says he did not want any compensation or other benefits from the government. “Nothing is more valuable to us than our kids,” he says, “We demand that 16th December be marked as the National Day against terrorism and extremism. We ask the state to take serious steps against elements involved in terrorism and extremism in the country.

Khan says if the SCP also fails to make the government form an independent judicial commission, the affected families would start a country-wide protest to get justice.

Mohammad Ghasan Khan was a student in 8th grade at APS Peshawar. His family had shifted to Peshawar from the tribal areas. On Friday, his father Dr Ameen Marwat got together with several other affected parents to address the media in Peshawar.

Marwat strongly dismissed what he said was a narrative promoted through electronic and social media that their kids are Shaheed. “My opinion is that we had sent our children to the school not to the battlefield. How they be shaheeds? When someone go to war, they move with weapons not with pens. How did our kids embrace martyrdom in the school? They were robbed of their lives,” he said.

“We admitted our children to the country’s most secure school, but still we ended up losing them. We have reservations over security arrangements made that day. If government can establish a judicial commission over the Model Town and Quetta incidents, then why has it not done the same in the APS’s case?” he asks

Marwat said his wife had become a psychological patient due to the trauma suffered that day. “She keeps asking me why we were not killed in Ghasan’s place. It is not easy for us to bear this loss. Whenever we see other children playing, we are reminded of our son. We hide our tears from each other but we know that we’re going to live with these tears forever now.”

The APS parents have formed forum called the APS-Shuhada Forum. Through this forum, they have protested and arranged media talks in the country’s various cities, seeking an independent judicial commission to inquire into the incident.

Gul Shehzad Khattak’s daughter Sadia Gul Khaatak was also a student at APS. He recalled that his daughter had been a keen student of English literature and language. “She had wanted to get a doctorate degree in the subject, but the terrorists ruined her dreams. No one can imagine the pain of a father who has lost a young child. Such parents pass life with sad memories. There are days when I cannot sleep for several nights and suffer from hypertension.”

Prof Dr Khadim Hussain, an educationist, criticises the civil and military leadership for its failure to implement the NAP in letter and spirit. He said the NAP required an overhaul of the country’s security and power narrative. “That’s why the national action plan was not implemented, and terrorism and extremism remain a challenge for us,” he said.

He highlighted that no action had been taken either against hate speech or private militias. It is high time a judicial commission is set up to fix responsibility for the tragic incident.

Published in Daily Times, December 16^th 2017.