SIALKOT/GUJRANWALA: Two of the victims of Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan’s Tuesday massacre at the Army Public School, Peshawar, were laid to rest in their respective native villages in Punjab on Wednesday.

Khushnood Zeb (14), a Class-VIII student, was sent to the APS several years back by his father, Aurangzeb, a serving Subedar, with dreams of good education and a better life. His hopes, however, dashed on Tuesday when he was murdered by TTP, along with his 130 other schoolfellows. He was buried in the graveyard of Durgi, his native village in Daska tehsil, amid sobs and tears.

Earlier, his funeral prayers were largely attended by people from all walks of life.

After the burial, Subedar Aurangzeb told Dawn that his three sons - Aftab Zeb, Mehtab Zeb and Khusnood Zeb - had been getting education at the APS, Peshawar. His second son Mehtab Zeb, a student of Class-X, was also injured seriously in the school attack and was admitted to the Civil Military Hospital, Peshawar, in a critical condition. His son, Aftab Zeb, also a student of 10th class, saved his life by escaping from the school during the attack, he said.

Meanwhile, the body of Omair Arshed, a student of Class-VIII at the APS Peshawar, was brought to Kamoki in Gujrnawala district. He was laid to rest in the local graveyard in the presence of hundreds of mourners. He was the son of a trader, Muhammad Arshed.

Published in Dawn, December 18th, 2014