School Attack: Taliban terrorists kill 145, mostly children

Islamabad, Pakistan — “‘God is great,'” the Taliban militants shouted as they roared through the hallways of a school in Peshawar, Pakistan. Then, 14-year-old student Ahmed Faraz recalled, one of them took a harsher tone. ” ‘A lot of the children are under the benches,’ ” a Pakistani Taliban said, according to Ahmed. ” ‘Kill them.’ ” By the time the hours-long siege at Army Public School and Degree College ended early Tuesday evening, at least 145 people — 132 children, 10 school staff members and three soldiers — were dead, military spokesman Gen. Asim Bajwa said. More than 100 were injured, many with gunshot wounds, according to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province Information Minister Mushtaq Ghani. READ MORE HERE

Pakistan School Attack – NBC News

Pakistan school shooting: Taliban targeted young students in auditorium, female teachers burned alive

Pakistan responds to Peshawar school massacre with strikes on Taliban

What we know about the school shooting in Pakistan – PBS

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The smallest coffins are the heaviest. Here’s a hypothetical letter from an 8-year old Pakistan school victim:

Assalam-u-walikum Ammi,
By now you must have heard the
news of me getting killed in the
attack at our school. I know
Ammi, you are crying a lot and so
is Papa. I can see everything from
up here. Please don’t cry. I
cannot see you both cry. It hurts
me. I can see you both wailing
and shaking my body violently
and pleading me to come back.
Ammi, stay strong please. Didn’t I
tell you that I didn’t want to go to
school today?
The function in the auditorium
was going quite good. I was
seated right in the middle from
where I could see the stage
clearly. Everything was calm and
pleasant when suddenly a couple
of Army men entered into the
dimly lit auditorium. I thought
they were here to watch the
show, but they were all armed.
They did not wear masks. Ammi,
they looked very scary! And all of
a sudden one of them shot down
our Chief guest. We all screamed.
And then they started firing on us.
Many of my school-mates were
hurt, some of them died on the
spot. We started running here and
there desperately searching for an
escape. Ammi, I couldn’t find an
escape route, I was so small. My
friends from higher classes
blocked my view. All I could hear
were gunshots that almost made
me deaf. I felt scared. I was
lonely. I needed you Ammi. Where
were you? I wanted to hide in
your arms…
I also cried a lot and I was
frantically shouting out to you
and Papa, but I wasn’t sure if you
were hearing me. Were you
hearing me Ammi Jan? Didn’t
Papa hear too? You used to say
that you were always with me.
Then where were you today? By
then, my school’s auditorium was
in complete chaos. Ammi! There
was blood everywhere. I ran for
the door and tripped over my
English teacher’s body. I saw her,
she was lying down in a pool of
blood. I tried to wake her up too,
Ammi. She did not respond. I
knew something was terribly
wrong. They even burned one of
our teachers in front of us and
forced us too see her die. She was
a very good teacher. Why did they
burn her? Why were these uncles
killing us? I ran out of the
auditorium and towards the
sports field. I knew I could
escape.
But as soon as I reached for the
field there was another Army
uncle who was in the field firing
at us. He saw me too. I ran back
inside but it was too late. Ammi,
he fired me straight into my chest,
twice. It started paining Ammi, my
blood started to pour out and I
fell down. The big monstrous man
came over to me, stepped on my
hand and pressed it against the
ground, I managed to let out a
short cry of pain, and then he
shouted at me ‘Say the Kalma!’ He
wasn’t human at all ammi. He
shouted again in his somewhat
Arabic accent. I couldn’t even
manage a word out of my mouth.
Seconds felt like days. The
terrorists were worst than
monsters in human disguise. It
was very painful. I was facing
difficulty in breathing. I did not
want to move because it
increased my pain. My body
started to go numb soon. All I
wanted was your lap to rest my
head on. I thought I was sick, and
you would come over and carry
me with you, give me some syrup
and sing me a lullaby until I
sleep. It was all I needed, one last
time, I could hold you, I could
kiss you on your forehead and
your voice, I wanted to hear it call
my name. Slowly, my vision got
blurred, the pain increased, I tried
to cry out loud, but couldn’t. I
always wanted to be a doctor, if I
had been one, maybe I could have
cured myself, right Ammi? And
then I coughed a mouthful of
blood and that was it. Yes, I was
in my school uniform in the
morning and now I sleep in my
little coffin.
Papa always told me that Dadi
went to Allah Pak and Allah made
her a star. I think he was right. I
am a star high above that world,
it’s so beautiful up here. It’s also
very peaceful here unlike our
country. And I have met many
angels here. They are so
beautiful. And we all kids are
living in a grand palace where we
play all day. We have been told to
wait until the Day of Judgement,
when that uncle who killed me
will be thrown in Hell. And I will
wait for you both, I will hold
yours and Papa’s index fingers
and we will go to Paradise
together, Ammi. Everything is
beautiful here. But I miss you
both. Don’t grieve over my death,
it was Allah’s plan. Keep your
faith in Allah strong. He is indeed
the best Judge. He will make the
wrong-doers pay for their sins. In
the end, dear mother, just convey
my message to the world that we
Muslims are not terrorists, if we
had been terrorists, today I
wouldn’t have died. We want
peace. Our religion wants peace. I
don’t want any more kids of my
age to suffer the same fate as I
did, nor their parents Please tell
the world to achieve peace
‘together’. It’s the only way to
make this world a better place to
live. That’s all. I love you, Ammi.
I know it’s very hard but please
be Patient.
Yours Lovingly,
Bilal Khan

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