IN my 57 years of existence I have seen flowers at many, many funerals, but this is the first time that I have seen a funeral for a flower, in fact funerals for 131 flowers.

What can I say to their weeping mothers, grieving fathers and distraught families, there are no words that can lessen their bereavment. I only pray that no human being should have to undergo such an epic tragedy.

As for the perpetrators of this sordid crime, they are not even worthy of contempt. Being a humanist, all I can say is, even a rabid animal must be put to sleep humanely.

Syed Ali Anwar

Karachi

Published in Dawn, December 19th, 2014