The calendar marked the sixteenth when the children awoke from their slumber on a frosty December morning in the city of Peshawar, Pakistan. Apparently, it was just going to be an ordinary day with a normal routine. But little did our Angels know that this seemingly dull and drab day was going to have a lot of surprises in store – Unfortunately, they were far from pleasant.
16.12.2014 was the fateful day when the students of Army Public School and College (APS&C) were Martyred in a terrorist attack on their Educational Institute. There were an approximate number of 143 casualties. Those of the students who miraculously survived were left forever scarred by being the unfortunate witnesses to such complete pandemonium. 
Initially, when I caught a whiff of this heart-wrenching incident, I was unable to accept it at all. For a so called Human Being to be capable of carrying out such an absolutely reprehensible and inhumane act of such excruciating carnage, barbarism and bloodlust seemed completely unreal. I have always been a firm believer in a quote of Anne Frank – “In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart” – But after this incident came to pass, my firmness in this belief had greatly debilitated, if not diminished entirely. 
Every time I switched on the television, the gory pictures of the corpses of innocent little children laying lifeless in a complete bloodbath compelled me to lose my faith in Humanity bit by bit. Various news channels would show how the families of the Martyrs were mourning over their loss and when I recalled the way mothers were clinging to the caskets of their children with waterfalls of tears streaming down their grief-stricken faces, I felt ashamed of my own self. I felt ashamed of being a Pakistani and I felt ashamed of the fact that I am a Human Being.
As is the norm and natural or perhaps habitual response to situations like these, the international media started saying that the children were Martyred for going to school. However, that is far from the truth.
Certain international news channels need to get their facts straight before they jump to conclusions according to their own stereotypical presumptions. It is highly misleading and irresponsible of the media to project such inauthentic and baseless information to the masses and thus fuel further hatred within the public. 
The students were not Martyred for receiving an education, rather this attack was in response to the military operation in the tribal areas of Pakistan. Therefore, before instantly labeling the incident an attack on education, it would be wise of the media to recheck and think twice.
Moreover, another reaction which caught my attention was that some people were spewing hatred over the fact that when the Human Rights Activist Malala Yousafzai was victimized by a terrorist attack, it caused a major uproar and outrage in the nation but when these children were Martyred, Pakistan did not do as much for them as it had the potential to.
Now, I am in no way implying that Miss Yousafzai’s case is of higher importance than the case of our Martyrs but I must say I am greatly disappointed by this reaction of the public. Instead of praying for the departed souls and acting as pillars of support for the families of the deceased, certain people are further causing the worsening of the situation by making comparisons between the importance and recognition given to Miss Yousafzai and the Martyrs of this recent attack.
I stumbled upon a heated argument over the same topic and it occurred to me that instead of arguing over such petty non-issues, if we channeled our energy towards assisting the survivors of this heinous massacre towards their path to a speedy recovery, it would be beneficial for one and all.
Words fail to encompass the magnitude of this national calamity. I have expressed this ardent desire of mine before and I shall express it once more; I do so fervently wish to somehow travel back in time and prevent this incident right in its initial footsteps but much to our ill fortune, since it has already come to pass and history cannot be rewritten, we must now keep in mind that Martyrs never die.
Our beautiful flowers did not depart in vain. Their precious blood did not go to waste for it is unarguably and undoubtedly true that this incident may have shaken up a great many families but it brought an otherwise divided country together. Our Martyrs united this nation against a common enemy – Terrorism.
This incident may have acted as a major setback for Pakistan but it also provided us with the motivation, perseverance and commitment which we previously lacked to fight the War on Terror. Now it is our moral obligation as the citizens of this country to do our Martyrs proud by serving them the justice they deserve. 
Fatiesta's Rants 