PESHAWAR: Parents of the killed students of the Army Public School on Tuesday launched a mass awareness campaign to garner support for their upcoming protest in Islamabad on March 19.

In this connection three camps were set up one each on Saddar Road, in University Town and Chowk Yadgar, respectively. Office-bearers of the Ghazi Shuhada Forum, parents of the victims and students of the APS attended the camps.

Pictures of the deceased students, banners and placards with different demands and slogans were displayed at the camps. Organisers distributed pamphlets to a large number of people.

“We appeal to people from across Pakistan to participate in the awareness programme to protect the future of their children,” read a pamphlet written in Urdu language.

An organiser, Zahid Khan Durrani, told Dawn that the basic demands of the Shuhada Ghazi Forum were holding of judicial inquiry into the massacre of APS students, and award of Nishan-i-Haider to the victims. “Despite continuous protest of the parents, the government is yet to accept their demands,” said Mr Durani, whose son, Mohammad Saiban Durrani, a student of grade 10, was also killed in the attack.

He said that the forum had turned down the government announcement of awarding Tamgha-i-Shujaat to the deceased students.

The protest would be staged on March 19 in front of the Supreme Court and Prime Minister House to press the government for accepting their demands, he said.

On the schedule date, said Mr Durrani, the protesters would gather in Hashtnagri bazaar at 8am from where they would leave for Islamabad. He further said that maximum efforts would be made to convince more people to participate in the protest. He said that the awareness campaign would also continue on Wednesday (today).

Published in Dawn, March 18th, 2015

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