LAHORE - A ceremony was held at the Government Maqbool-e-Aam High School in GOR-I to pay homage to the martyrs of Army Public School Peshawar on Saturday.
Schools Secretary Dr Allah Bakhsh Malik was the chief guest at the ceremony, which was attended by Headmaster Ghulam Mustafa and other officials of the Schools Education Department. During the ceremony, special prayers were offered for APS Peshawar martyrs. In his address, Dr Allah Bakhsh Malik paid rich tributes to parents and family members of APS martyrs and said that education was the biggest weapon to eradicate ignorance, fanaticism and terrorism from the country. He said promotion of education was in full swing across the province under the “Parho Punjab, Barho Punjab Programme” of the Punjab government. He said the government was working hard to achieve the target of hundred percent enrolment. Malik also inaugurated an early childhood education classroom and library at the school. The library contains 17,000 digital books along with 3,000 printed copies. He also gave his personal books and computers to the school library for students. The secretary and his wife also distributed gifts to students.
In his message on the 3rd anniversary of martyrs of a Peshawar military school, Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif reiterated the resolve to continue war on terrorism.
He said the government has successfully fighting against terrorism. He said: “The martyrdom of students and teachers of Peshawar Army Public School on December 16, 2014, will be remembered forever They wrote a new history of bravery and valor. The martyred teachers and the children are our heroes.”
He vowed to continue with peace efforts and expressed the satisfaction that the armed forces have broken the backbone of terrorists. “We will not sit idle till terrorism is purged out of the country, he added. He laid stressed on promoting the culture of tolerance so that peace could be maintained fully. He also expressed his sympathies with terror victim families.
Separately, the Punjab chief minister condoled the death of Muhammad Afzal Khan, a senior journalist. He also expressed a deep sense of grief over the passing away of Khalid Farooq, brother of Tahir Farooq, Vice President of CPNE. In his separate condolence messages, he prayed to Almighty Allah to rest the departed souls in eternal peace.