PESHAWAR: The feelings of grief descended on the colonial era All Saints’ Church as the first anniversary of the devastating twin bombings, which ripped through the church and left around 90 persons killed and over 100 injured, was observed here on Monday amidst people sharing their ordeals with teary eyes.

Visitors turned up in large number, several of them crying and narrating their tragedy with sobs. They were recalling with vividness the death and destruction, which hit this over 130-year old church in Kohati Gate area when the entire courtyard outside the prayer hall was littered with human flesh and blood.

Special services started early in the morning and continued throughout the day. Bishops from all the Dioceses under the Church of Pakistan turned up to show solidarity with the families, who lost their near and dear ones in the twin blasts.

The services led by the Bishop of Peshawar, Humphrey Sarfaraz Peter, resolved that the Christian community would continue to struggle for the prosperity and development of the country. He said that terrorism could not create differences among the people of different faiths who had been living in the provincial capital with love and affection.

A large number of people mark first anniversary of the tragedy

The church choir also performed on the occasion. The bishops one-by-one came forward and offered verses from Holy Bible. The members of the community also came from other cities to attend the ceremony and share the grief of their relatives and friends.

The final session of the commemoration ceremony was organised at a spacious courtyard of Edwardes High School, opposite to the church. Tight security measures were adopted at both the venues, the church and the school, as the main routes leading to the place were barricaded and visitors had to pass through metal-detector walkthrough gates installed at the entrances.

Two minor brothers, Adan Gill and Aman Gill, who had received injuries in the blasts, were telling the visitors how they were playing in the church’s courtyard when they heard the first blast and started running when the second blast took place and they fell down.

“People were crying, many of them were running for their life in injured condition, and there was smoke all over the place,” said eight-year-old Aman, who had received abdomen injuries and his gall bladder had also to be removed. The boy pulled up his shirt to show a deep scar of stitches on his stomach.

When the members of the community started gathering in the morning, they were embracing and consoling each other as most of them shared common grief. Banners and placards carrying pictures of those killed in the incident were displayed in different portions of the church as well as the school. Around 90 pictures were put on display in the veranda of the church. Messages of the relatives of the deceased persons were visible on different banners, stating how they still miss them.

With tears filled eyes several of the visitors were lighting candles in memory of their relatives. Many of them were seen placing bouquets near the pictures. Some of the grief-stricken persons were touching the pictures of their killed relatives. They were inconsolable and were constantly uttering that life without their deceased relatives was incomplete.

A delegation of Awami National Party comprising its central information secretary Mian Iftikhar Hussain and provincial parliamentary leader Sardar Hussain Babak also visited the members of the Christian community for showing solidarity with them.

“During initial days both the federal and provincial governments paid attention to our plight but later we were left at the mercy of NGOs and affluent member of our community abroad,” said Khurram Pervez, a young man of 29, who had lost his right eye in the occurrence.

He said that several of the critically injured persons needed continuous medical treatment, which was not available to them after the initial days. He recalled that several of the ball bearings pierced through his body when the blasts took place.

Suleman Sabir, another eyewitness, said that he lost two of his sisters, Samreen and Zarish, and his three-year-old son had also received injuries in the incident. “My son has still been hesitant to accompany us to the church as he fears that another blast will take place here,” he said adding that he (Suleman) was present near the rear entrance when the blasts took place and soon the air was filled with smell of explosive and stench of blood.

Another witness, Ijaz Gill, was all praise for the inhabitants of the area, stating that the Muslim shopkeepers brought sheets of cloths to cover bodies of the women and other killed persons and took the injured and bodies to hospital. He said that till late night on that tragic day, Muslims from different areas helped them in digging graves and bringing coffins of the deceased persons for burial.

“We are as patriotic Pakistani as our Muslim brothers and sisters. We are proud that we have also given sacrifices in the war against terrorism along with our security forces and police,” said Sajid Yaqoob, whose wife and brother received injuries in the incident.

“Our forefathers had voted for Pakistan and it is our commitment that we would scarify our life for this country,” he added.

“The year has passed in blink of an eye. We are shattered and have yet to come to term with this tragedy,” said Bashiruddin, an elder of the community. For the last three days, he said, they had been visiting residences of those, who had lost their family members in the blasts.

Published in Dawn, September 23rd, 2014