Pakistan school reopens 1 month after Taliban massacre of students

Pakistani children returned on Monday to the school where Taliban gunmen killed 150 of their classmates and teachers last month, clutching their parents' hands tightly in a poignant symbol of perseverance despite the horrors they had endured.

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It was the first time the school had reopened since the assault and security was tight. The nation has been reeling from the Dec. 16 terrorist attack in Peshawar one of the worst Pakistan has experienced. The violence carried out by seven Taliban militants put a spotlight on whether the authorities can end the stubborn insurgency that kills and maims thousands every year.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrivedon Monday on an unannounced trip to urge the Pakistan government to do more to crack down on militant groups.

Kerry is due to meet Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Army Chief Raheel Sharif as he aims both to offer sympathy and to galvanize Pakistan to combat militants who have used its territory to attack neighbouring Afghanistan and India.

The massacre also horrified parents across the nation and prompted officials to implement tighter security at schools.

For Peshawar parents like Abid Ali Shah, Monday morning was especially painful as he struggled to get his sons ready for school, something his wife used to do. She was a teacher at the school and was killed in the violence. Both of his sons attended the school. The youngest was shot in the head but survived after the militants thought he was dead.

Everything is ruined here, everything.- Abid Ali Shah, whose wife was killed in the attack

"A hollowness in my life is getting greater. I am missing my wife," Shah said. He said he had wanted to shift his children to a different school or city but decided not to because they still have to take exams this spring: "Everything is ruined here, everything."

His older son, Sitwat Ali Shah, 17, said it wasn't until he saw his brother break down in tears as they prepared to go to school that he did as well. Sitwat said both he and his brother have trouble sleeping and often wake up, crying for their mother.

"Those who have done all this to all of us cannot be called humans," Sitwat said, adding he still wanted to go back to school and become an air force officer.

Schools add armed guards

A ceremony was held at the school to mark its reopening, but classes were to restart on Tuesday. Security was tight, part of a countrywide effort to boost safety measures at schools in the wake of the attack. Schools around Pakistan have raised their boundary walls, added armed guards and installed metal detectors, although many have questioned why it took such a horrible attack to focus attention on school safety.

The government has stepped up military operations in the tribal areas, reinstated the death penalty and allowed military courts to try civilians all attempts to crack down on extremist activities. But in an attack on Monday, gunmen killed seven paramilitary soldiers in the southwestern Baluchistan province, underscoring the dangers the country still faces.

In Peshawar, media and vehicles were kept hundreds of metres away from the Army Public School, which had coils of barbed wire freshly installed on top of the compound's walls, and two helicopters circled overhead. The chief of Pakistan's army, Gen. Raheel Sharif, was on hand with his wife to greet and console the students.

Some women brought garlands of flowers and draped them around the children. Passages from the Qur'an were read and the national anthem was sung while parents, students and teachers were given a pamphlet about the psychological impact of terror attacks on children.

No government officials attend ceremony

On social media, some Pakistanis questioned why top government officials were not at the ceremony.

Teacher Andleeb Aftab, who lost her 10th grade son, Huzaifa, in the attack, came in a black dress and head scarf, walking to the place where she had last seen her son alive. She said she chose to go back to school rather than sit at home and keep mourning.

"I have come here because the other kids are also my kids," she said. "I will complete the dreams of my son, the dreams I had about my son, by teaching other students."

On Sunday night, 15-year-old Ahmed Nawaz said he is still in constant pain and being treated for his badly wounded left arm but that he was determined to go back.

For the militants, he said he had one message: "We are not scared of you."

But in many families, apprehension mixed with anger. Aurangzeb Khan lost his 16-year-old son in the attack while his other son survived.

"We all are scared after this incident," Khan said. "I am not satisfied about what they are claiming or what they are doing for security and safety of the children."