Nation can’t be defeated, children’s morale high: COAS

PESHAWAR: Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif was present at the Army Public School and College here on Monday to receive the survivors of the December 16 terrorist attack in an effort to boost the morale of the students and their parents as it reopened after the extended winter holidays.
General Raheel Sharif shook hands with the students and met their parents. On the occasion, the army chief said that the Pakistani nation is unbeatable and the morale of the children is high. He also participated in the school’s morning assembly which started slightly behind schedule.
A huge number of parents also visited the school along with their kids. They also participated in the assembly and sang the national anthem and ‘Dua’ with the students.The wife of the army chief was also present in the school and met the children and their parents.
It was not a normal day in the school that reopened after 27 days. Formal classes could not resume on Monday. School officials said the classes would start on Tuesday (today). After the assembly, the students along with their parents visited different classrooms and other sections of the sprawling building of the school.
The repair and renovation work in the school has almost been completed. The signs of the brutal attack had vanished. All the classrooms and offices had been completely refurbished. Decoration work in the spacious auditorium, where most of the students were massacred by the militants, was still in progress.
A few counters had been set up for the students’ registration as formal attendance in the classes could not be taken.The officials responsible for registering the students were also collecting their contact numbers and addresses.
“The students’ registration is being done to know the exact number and details of the survivors,” one official said.On yet another counter, some pamphlets with trauma counselling tips were distributed among the students. Separate stalls were set up with gifts for the students.
The schoolteachers were of the opinion that it would take at least two weeks to resume normal routine work in the school. “Activity-based classes will be arranged in the school for two weeks and then formal studies will resume,” stated one of the teachers.
The students and their parents were in high spirits as they declared their commitment to continue their studies in the same school.Anas, a ninth grader, had suffered a bullet injury to his right arm in the December 16 attack. However, he had managed to get out of the hall and rescued another student as well.
“I was scared and was worried whether I would be able tocontinue my studies here. But now that I have attended the school today, my fears have gone. I will continue to study in this school,” he said.
Idrees, his father, who was accompanying him, said that the attackers wanted the kids to discontinue education. “They are mistaken. We won’t get scared. My son will study and I won’t change his school,” he stressed.
Mohammad Amir, a student of grade 12, was deeply affected by the gruesome attack. “I can’t forget the painful scenes, which keep coming to my mind again and again. Half of my classmates have been martyred in the incident. Today I came to school to see how many of them survived the carnage,” he said.
Malik Tahir Awan, who lost one of his sons in the tragedy, had brought with him his surviving son Ahsan, a student of grade 8. He said that he had been striving to help Ahsan overcome the trauma.“I take him for tennis and other activities so that he could forget the painful memories, especially the loss of his brother,” he said.
Attending the school on Monday inspired a new courage among the students. Most of the students said that they were scared but their fears were gone after attending school on Monday.Abdul Wadood, whose son Shahmir Khan had sustained injury in the incident, was thankful to Allah for saving the life of Shahmir. The boy had received three bullets in his back, but had survived.
“He was frightened. He would repeatedly remember the ill-fated day, but now he is improving. He was nervous even today, but after attending the school and mixing up with other kids, he gained confidence,” Abdul Wadood said.
A school teacher, Andaleeb Aftab, who lost her son in the terrorist strike, told reporters that she wanted to go back to teaching as her students were waiting for her. “I miss my son. His name is still there in the list of students in his class. Things would get back to normal, but my son won’t be there,” she remarked while holding back tears. She added that the students should aim for starting a new day instead of remembering the tragic date of December 16.
A student, Aqib Azim, felt they have to fight the militants with a pen and education. Unprecedented security measures had been taken at the school and the surrounding areas as it opened its doors to students after the sad incident and the winter vacations. All the vehicles and individual passing through the routes leading to the Army Public School and College were properly checked. Military helicopters kept hovering over the school.
Outside the school building, three walkthrough gates had been installed and everyone entering the school had to pass through them.
The routine security of the school was enhanced. The height of the walls has been raised up to 16 feet and razor-wire fixed to it. Three bunkers have been built on the wall that had been scaled by the terrorists to enter the school premises December 16. Another three bunkers were set up on the top of the auditorium.
At least 30 soldiers would be permanently deployed in the school for security purpose, said an official.APP adds: As per a tweet of ISPR Director General Maj Gen Asim Salim Bajwa, the COAS along with his spouse joined students in the morning assembly and stood proudly to sing national anthem with them. Gen Raheel said the poem “Lab Pe Aati Hai Dua” solidifies our souls. He also met the parents and said this nation is unbeatable. Everyone was in high spirit on the occasion.
The COAS highly commended the courage of students and their parents on this occasion. The students expressed immense happiness after seeing General Raheel among them on the first day of re-opening of school and raised full-throated slogans of Pakistan Zindabad and Pak Army Zindabad.