Dark Chapter Of 2016! Pakistan holds national day of mourning after Bacha Khan university massacre
Flags will fly at half mast on all government buildings inside as well as outside the united states, the office of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said, while a prayer service will likely be held in the capital Islamabad.
The assault bore a chilling similarity to some 2014 massacre in a school in nearby Peshawar which prompted an escalation of a national crack down on extremism and shocked the nation.
Security forces killed all four gunmen in the university strike, that was claimed with a Pakistani Taliban faction but labeled “un-Islamic” by the umbrella group’s leaders, who also vowed to hunt down those responsible.
Among those that perished was assistant chemistry professor Syed Hamid Husain who was lauded for challenging firing and the gunmen at them while his panicked pupils rushed for cover.
Most casualties were laid to rest according to Muslim custom, including Husain who had been entombed 80km east.
“He’d always help the pupils and he was the person who understood each of their secrets since they’d discuss each of their issues with him,” 22-year old geology student Waqar Ali told AFP.
“He was referred to by pupils as ‘The Protector’.”
Many the pupil casualties perished in a hostel for young men where the four attackers were cornered by security forces.
The bodies of militants, bloodied and with their clothing ripped, were dumped on the ground of a truck before being taken from the scene.
The assault brought back memories of the 2014 atrocity, in which gunmen from an identical Taliban faction slaughtered more than 150 people -run school in Peshawar that was nearby.
Many the casualties were kids, as well as a candlelight vigil was held by their relatives for those slain in the most recent strike late Wednesday in Peshawar.
The strike on the army school combined Pakistanis scarred with a decade in outrage and shock and prompted military and a government -led crack down on extremism.
Security enhanced in 2015, which found the least amount of departures from militant violence in 2007 because the creation of the Pakistani Taliban. But critics have warned the government isn’t taking long term measures to tackle the inherent issues of extremism.
“We will not be safe, even parents don’t feel safe,” he said.
The Bacha Khan strike, which Amnesty International said could be labeled a war crime, earned international condemnation, including from UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and from neighbouring India.
“It’s especially appalling these terrorists continue to assault educational institutions, targeting Pakistan’s future generations,” said a US State Department spokesman.
