Massacre vigil

Mohammed Hassan, Mayor of Oldham, Fida Hussain and Arij Naaz Shakir at the vigil.

HEARTFELT tributes were paid in Oldham to the people who died in the Pakistan school massacre last week.

Residents, both young and old, came together at the Pakistani Community Centre on Marlborough Street to hold a candlelight vigil for the 141 people — 132 of whom were children — murdered by the Taliban at the Peshawar Army Public School.

Qari Abdul Shakoor, chairman of Oldham Mosques Council, read out a prayer before the lighting of the candles.

Mayor Councillor Fida Hussain, who lit the first candle, said: “This is a terrible and horrific tragedy and I would like to send a message to all those who have lost a loved one that they are in our thoughts and prayers.”

Seven militants from the Pakistani Taliban attacked the school. The attack — the Taliban’s deadliest in Pakistan — has been widely condemned.

Scores of survivors were being treated in hospitals as frantic parents searched for news of their children. Many of the students were the children of military personnel.

Fazal Rahim, co-ordinator of the Oldham Interfaith Forum, said: “Everyone we have spoken to is so upset at what has happened.

“This is one way of remembering the dead and making a commitment that people will not be cowed by terrorists.
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