APS Attack Black day For Pakistan
We can never forget the day of December 16th 2014 was the darkest day in the history of Pakistan, when the APS Attack Black day Pakistan shocked the entire nation. It was the deadliest Peshawar school massacre in the history of Pakistan. The martyred children and their teachers are the heroes of the nation. We will not rest until the complete elimination of terrorism in the country. Remembering the children that went to school but never came back. Gone but not forgotten. May all the children and people of our country be protected from every evil harm.
Our deep condolences to the families of victims and prayers for victims. We will never forget the bloodshed of innocent students. Their sacred blood shall not go in vain.
Two major draconian events took place on the same day, past in history. One was the secession of East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) back in 1971 while the second was a Terrorist attack on Army Public School Peshawar in 2014.
Pakistan lost the 1971 war as well as its East Pakistan with the loss of many lives (civilians as well as military men) on the other hand in the 2014 attack there were almost 150 people killed (about 132 were children).
Both of the events mentioned above have some similarities as, both related to humanity and morality as a whole. both have internal as well as external factors involved therein.
Both traumatized the people of Pakistan as a whole. Both have far-reaching effects and are sensitive to many of us today.
The positive from inconsolable was Both the events had conjured us and made the way to revive our spirit against anti and evil.
I am concluding with a prayer for those who seceded from us for their prosperity as well as ours and to extinguish the candle for the light of hope and tranquility in the name of those who lost their lives in 2014.
The concept given by Joshi & O’donnell was used as a theory in these which states that adolescents keep the feelings of trauma to themselves and pretend as if they are fine. This behavior makes them more susceptible to the psychological distress.8 The study, therefore, employed qualitative methods so that the children can open up and talk about their hidden fears and emotions. The current study aimed to explore the experiences of school children of Karachi after the APS attack in terms of their feelings and impact on their lives, considering the high frequency of terrorism in Karachi, which serves as a continuous reminder to them.
Participants were school children, 13-15 years of age, in grades 9 – 11 from Matriculation and O level education systems. Sampling was convenience, and participants were from the army, public and private schools. Data collection started nine months after the attack, in September 2015, and continued till November 2019. Data saturation was achieved after conducting six focus group discussions (FGDs) and five in-depth interviews (IDIs). Permission was sought from the Institutional Review Board of Jinnah Sindh Medical University (JSMU/IRB/2015/-13) and the school authorities. The principals of the selected schools were briefed about the research, and they suggested suitable dates, time and participants and signed the consent form after getting permission from parents. The participants signed the assent form. The duration of interviews was 30 to 40 minutes and were audio and videotaped, and later transcribed verbatim. Dependability was maintained by listening to the random videos and audios thrice to check the accuracy and completion. The primary researcher was accompanied by a note-taker who managed the recordings and took notes of the whole discussion for data collection. An interview guide was used with these main questions: Describe your feelings about the APS attack (Recall that time and present feelings). How did the APS attack affect your life (Recall that time and present feelings)? Describe your all experiences so far related to the attack?
To ensure credibility, participants were asked to describe their experience of living after this incident without influencing their description. Phenomenological analytical techniques of Colaizzi 10 were used for analyzing the data. The first two transcripts and note-taker’s notes were read separately; significant statements were identified, and meaningful statements were formulated and themes were generated. All of the three researchers finalized the themes after discussion with consensus. Data were later deductively analyzed for the identified themes, and the responses of FGDs and IDIs were triangulated, particularly focusing on the theme of media and terrorism.
Notification of Holiday in All Public and Private Schools / Colleges on APS Attack Black day 16 Dec 2024
Office of the Deputy Commissioner Rawalpindi issued a Notification on 15-12-2024 in connection with the Holiday in All Public and Private Schools / Colleges on 16 Dec 2024 in Rawalpindi. The schools and colleges in Rawalpindi, Lahore, and Islamabad will remain closed on 16-12-2024. The details are as follows:
In exercise of the powers conferred upon me vide Notification No. SOW-I(S&GAD)1-4/2018(PT-IV), dated 26-12-2023 issued by the Services and General Administration Department, Government of the Punjab, Lahore, I. DR. Hassan Waqar Cheema, Deputy Commissioner, Rawalpindi
The government did not specify any reason for the announcement, but reports said that the decision was taken in memory of the victims of the Army Public School attack which killed over 130 children in 2014.
A public holiday has been declared in all state and private schools and colleges in the territorial jurisdiction of Rawalpindi and Lahore on Monday (tomorrow), according to the notification.
The announcement of winter vacations, starting next week, further adds to the concern that students—especially those in critical grades—are falling behind in their studies.
Educational experts, such as Dr. Malik Abrar, President of the All Pakistan Private Schools and Colleges Association, warned that these frequent school closures could be detrimental to students’ academic progress, particularly for students preparing for exams in grades 9 through 12.
Dr. Abrar stressed that the lack of consistent in-person learning is affecting students’ ability to complete their syllabi, leading to an increased reliance on private tutoring, which many cannot afford.
The government, however, remains focused on the security situation, ensuring that the safety of citizens, particularly students and educators, is prioritized.
Authorities have emphasized that the decision was made in consultation with security agencies and is essential to avoid any untoward incidents as the country observes the painful anniversary of the APS attack. Schools and colleges in these regions will reopen on December 17, following the day of remembrance.
As the holiday season approaches and with security concerns continuing to shape the academic calendar, it remains to be seen how this will affect students’ learning and preparation for exams.
PUNJAB– Punjab government has announced 16 December Holiday in Pakistan and schools to remain closed. As instructed by the Punjab government, the Deputy Commissioner of Rawalpindi announced in a statement that all schools in the district will be closed. On December 16, every one of the private and public educational institutions in Rawalpindi, Islamabad, and Lahore will be closed in memories of the Dhaka 1971 Fall of and the Army Public School (APS) catastrophe.
Conclusion Of APS Attack Black day
The study concluded that the APS attack was the source of emotional distress and fear for the school children of Karachi as they personalized the event due to the nature of the attack. Immediately after the incident, they were in anger, grief, and fear, which altered their daily life activities and caused apprehensions in socializing and attending school. However, later they became highly motivated to study and gained courage. This motivation is revenge from terrorists as they wanted to keep children away from schools.