Pakistanis hold candle light vigil for school victims

By Kang Hyun-kyung

Around 100 Pakistani students and workers gathered on a street in Itaewon on the night of Dec. 20. They were there to hold a candlelight vigil in memory of over 140 children and staff brutally slain last week by members of the Taliban at a school in Peshawar, west of Islamabad.

During the vigil, Pakistani Ambassador to Korea Zahid Nasrullah Khan reiterated his government’s determination to fight the terrorist group.

The envoy noted the Pakistani government will “pursue each and every terrorist and eliminate them and we look forward to your help and support in our efforts to end terrorism.”

“The entire Pakistani nation is deeply grieved and shocked at the horrendous terrorist attack in the school in Peshawar,” said Ambassador Khan. “We mourn the loss of our innocent children but we are determined more than ever to crush terrorism in all its manifestations in Pakistan.”

Holding candles, Pakistanis there prayed for the victims and hoped that they rest in peace.

Near them was a red banner with a white background. It reads: “They went to school but never came back. We lost 136 bright futures of Pakistan. May they rest in peace and eternal bliss.”

Regarding the death toll, the Pakistani interior ministry said that the brutal killing left 141 people dead, including 132 children.

On Dec. 22, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif vowed an all-out effort to get rid of the Taliban and al-Qaida-linked terrorist groups which have committed a string of attacks on schools, churches and members of the Shia Muslim minority of the country.