BBC News
December 16, 2021
"It simply came to our notice then. Since then our lives have not been as normal as other people's. Since then our lives have been spent in rallies. Our younger siblings have grown up in these rallies. Our lives are spent going to the graveyard and appearing before the media.
These are the words of Hafza Durrani, whose two brothers Noorullah Durrani and Saifullah Durrani lost their lives in the Army Public School attack.
Hafza Durrani told the BBC that even today it is a difficult stage for her to go to a happy occasion because she keeps thinking that our brothers are not involved in this happiness.
Gul Shehzad Khattak's daughter Sadia Gul was also a teacher in the school and she too was shot in the attack. Every month at the residence of Gul Shehzad, the parents of the children who died in the Army Public School meet. They miss their children, discuss government performance and court proceedings, and share their grief.
These people were also there a few days ago. Talking to them revealed that there is nothing more important in their lives: these people, sleeping and waking up, think that the people involved in the attack on APS, the mastermind and those who were negligent or who carried out this attack. I supported the extremists, will they be punished?
Regarding the government's current policy and negotiations with the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), he questioned how a government could negotiate with those responsible for killing thousands of people in the country.
There are still many questions regarding these talks. For example, are negotiations between the government and the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) underway or stalled or canceled?
Negotiations ongoing or suspended?
The banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) unilaterally ended a month-long ceasefire on December 9.
A spokesman for the group said talks were currently stalled by the Pakistani government but that the "Islamic Emirate", the Taliban government in Afghanistan, was acting as a mediator.
In a press conference a few days ago, Federal Minister for Information Fawad Chaudhry had said that if the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) would abide by the law, it would be fine otherwise the government has already taken action against them and will continue to do so.
حکومت پاکستان اورتحریک طالبان پاکستان کے درمیان مذاکرات کا آغاز پاکستان کےآئین و قانون کے تحت ہو چکاہے۔ ان مذاکرات میں ریاست کی حاکمیت ملکی سلامتی اور متعلقہ علاقوں کے امن، معاشرتی اور اقتصادی استحکام کو ملحوظ خاطر رکھاجائے گا۔
— PTI (@PTIofficial) November 8, 2021
وفاقی وزیر اطلاعات @fawadchaudhry pic.twitter.com/2yOZl5a1gA
He had said that talks were underway with the TTP and the writ of the government would be upheld, if the writ of the government was challenged then action would be taken on it.
However, he did not say at what level if negotiations were taking place, who was negotiating and what progress had been made so far.
Since the announcement of the unilateral ceasefire, the group has claimed responsibility for attacks on security personnel in more than six locations.
It may be recalled that Prime Minister Imran Khan had announced talks with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in an interview with a foreign channel in October in which he said that if the Taliban surrendered and recognized the supremacy of the constitution, A general amnesty may be announced.
Work has been under way since their announcement, and on the ninth of last month a two-month ceasefire was declared by both sides.
Our children are dead, who are they to forgive?"
Shafana Ajun's son Asfandyar was an eighth grade student in APS. He told the BBC that he condemned the government's decision to negotiate and that those the government was talking about pardoning were not forgivable.
Negotiators or pardons do not have this right because our children are dead, we have picked up the bodies," he said. Funerals have not been recovered from their homes.
He said that many people have been killed in various attacks, military and security personnel have been killed, so how can such attackers be forgiven?
Several military operations have been carried out in Waziristan and Swat and the militants have been cleared from these areas and now they are being brought back through negotiations, so will they carry out their operations here and Will there be operations like 'Zarb-e-Azb' and 'Anti-Corruption' again? So will they always go round and round like that? '
Gul Shehzad Khattak, the father of teacher Sadia Gul Khattak, who was shot dead by militants in an attack on an Army Public School, told the BBC that Pakistan was an independent state and had its own constitution and law. Whoever violates it is punished.
He said that the people of TTP are "guilty, the government should arrest them and present them in court and if found guilty, they should be punished severely."
"Children grew up in rallies and cemeteries."
When the youths of the affected families were asked about their lives, they opened their hearts.
Hifaza Durrani is now studying at the university. He told the BBC that his life had not been normal since the incident. He and other members of his family have been participating in rallies, court appearances, going to cemeteries, speaking out in front of the media, protesting and so on.
Among those killed was Khula Bibi, a seven-year-old daughter of Altaf Hussain, an English teacher at Army Public School Peshawar, while Altaf himself was seriously injured in the attack.
December 16, 2014 was Khola Bibi's first day at school. She was the youngest student to be killed and went to school with her father that day.
Altaf Hussain says he was in the office when the attack took place and his colleague Sadia Gul Khattak was with him. Hearing the sounds of firing, Sadia picked up Khula Bibi.
Sadia Gul Khattak's father Gul Shehzad Khattak is also a teacher and Sadia was his most cherished and worthy daughter. Gul Shehzad Khattak says that at the time of the incident, I had spoken to Sadia on the phone. She was comforting us on the phone.
Sadia Gul Khattak's father says that Sadia had wrapped Khula Bibi around her. It was as if Saadia Gul Khattak wanted to stop the bullets moving towards Khula Bibi on her body. Khula Bibi was shot in the head. We could not hold back our tears when we saw this scene.
Mah Rosha is also studying in college nowadays. His brother Asfandyar lost his life in the attack. He said he remembers how terrible that day was.
"I was very young at the time. My brother didn't want to go to school but my mother told him I would make biryani for you if you go to school. When I was going to my brother's school, I stood outside in the street and watched my brother for a long time.
There were people in the house when I came back from school. No one was telling me anything. My mother was crying and I was crying when I saw my mother. In the meantime, my younger brother told me in Pashto that the brother is gone, he is dead. I can't believe I just had no idea what was going on after that. "
"Our lives have changed dramatically. When we go to our relatives, my brother's cousins are getting married. They call us and say that we are your brothers, but I say that I do not have my own brother.
Mah Rosha asked, "Can't our army fight them?" Can't our army kill them? Then why negotiations? We want peace in our country so that no such incident happens again, no one's mother cries like this and then no one's house is destroyed like this.
More than 100 victims of an extremist incident have taken the form of a large family where their grief is now shared. There are happy occasions, there are wedding ceremonies, if there is any difficulty in them or there is any grief or victory, these families definitely participate in it.
These families do meet once or twice a month, talk to each other and express their sorrows and joys to each other, but most of these conversations are about their children who have joined them all. ۔
A member of the victim's family told the BBC his heart was broken. We say that Army Public School Peshawar and more incidents of terrorism can be stopped only if the perpetrators of such incidents are brought to light, they are brought to justice and they are really punished. Only then can such incidents be prevented in the future.
