ISLAMABAD: All was not routine on Wednesday as Pakistan mourned the slaughter of over 100 schoolchildren and staff members in a terrorist attack in Peshawar.

Flags were lowered to half-mast, communal prayers were offered, protests were organised, schools were shut and shutters on storefronts were pulled down as businesses remained closed.

In the federal capital, not just large markets but small clusters of shops of skilled workers such as auto-mechanics and tailors in G-7 and I-9 areas were also closed.

“We do business to provide for our children but if our children are under attack, what good is our business,” said Kamran Abbasi, president Islamabad Chambers of Small Traders and Small Industry, addressing a protest rally.

The Islamabad Expressway was blocked by students and people from other walks of life offered funeral prayers in absentia. They chanted slogans against terrorists and demanded the government to provide better protection to schools.

Another protest was organised at the National Press Club where citizens and civil society members gathered and marched to F-6 Markaz.

Speaking at the protest, human rights activist Marvi Sirmed said: “Terrorists killed Hazaras in Quetta, they attacked our daughters in Swat, they attacked our armed forces and now they have started attacking educational institutions. We must take action.”

Activist Samar Minallah called upon the civil society to come forth and protect the country.

Representative of Child Rights Movement (CRM) Habiba Salman said school syllabi should be changed because as long as children were taught hatred, violence cannot be eradicated from the society.

Pakistan Minorities Forum condemned the attack and protested outside the National Press Club.

Candlelight vigils were organised at the press club, Super Market in F-6 Markaz and Kohsar Market.

In Rawalpindi, business activity came to a near standstill as all shops in major commercial centres remained closed. Only medical stores, banks and government and private offices remained open.

Funerals in absentia were offered by the business community at Fawara Chowk, Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) at Marrir Chowk and Rawalpindi Medical College students and faculty members at Holy Family Hospital.

Rawalpindi Anjuman Tajraan and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader Shahid Ghafoor Paracha said this was the first time in the history of the country that the business community had come together to condemn terrorism.

Students of Fatima Jinnah Women University blocked The Mall as they marched on the road.

In Taxila, businesses were closed to express solidarity with the families who had lost loved ones.

All private educational institutions in Taxila and Wah Cantonment were closed for the day. No cases were heard at the district courts as the Taxila bar association boycotted court proceedings. Lawyers and journalists organised separate protest rallies. Shia Ulema Council also brought out a rally.

The ancient Dharmarajika stupa was illuminated with over a hundred candles during a vigil organised by The Voice, a non-government organisation.

The organisation’s president, Asim Meer, said the venue had been chosen because the site was developed as a place of peace and tolerance by the Emperor Ashoka.

Taxila’s Christian community also organised a candle-light vigil at the chapel of Mission Eye Hospital where citizens, doctors and nurses offered prayers for the departed souls.

An outpouring of grief was witnessed in Azad Jammu and Kashmir where shutters were pulled down in front of shops, special prayers were organised at almost all educational institutions and protest rallies were taken out.

In Muzaffarabad, funeral prayers in absentia were offered at various places with the biggest one at K.H. Khursheed Football Stadium under the aegis of Jamaatud Dawa.

In Murree, emotional scenes were observed as citizens came together to mourn at a protest organised on The Mall. Another protest was held at Govt Girls College in Phagwari.

Published in Dawn, December 18th, 2014