In connection with first anniversary of the deaths of Army Public School Peshawar; Bargad - a non government organisation working on youth development - and Punjab government have jointly launched a signature campaign in colleges and universities for ending extremism. On December 16, 2014, the Peshawar Attack at Army Public School attack led to the massacre of 141; including 132 children, most of whom were 16 years old or younger.
The campaign, started last Monday, would end on Saturday. It went in 10 universities and colleges of Lahore including Lahore College for Women University; Kinnaird College for Women; Government College for Home Economics; Government College for Boys Township; Government College for Girls Township, KIPS College; Superior University; Government College University; and Punjab University.
Students enthusiastically took part in this campaign which asked them to sign the following resolution, "We solemnly vow to stand up against violent extremism in Pakistan. We vow to never let 16th December, 2014 be repeated. We condemn this heinous tragedy and extend our full support to government efforts being made under the National Action Plan to avoid such atrocities in the future."
The campaign has managed to gather 5,000 signatures in support of the National Action Plan. These signatures will be presented to the government officials at the seminar on December 14 along with recommendations that will come out of the panel discussion and audience.
"The first anniversary of the APS Peshawar attack is approaching and it's an opportune time for everyone to get together in order to look back at how and why we have suffered, what we have lost, what we have gained, and look ahead to see where we want our nation to be and what needs to be done to eventually get there," Sabiha Shaheen, executive director Bargad said.
She said Bargad says seminar seeks to bring together the general public and the government to not only commemorate the APS Peshawar attack victims but also review the progress made over the past year in terms of implementing the National Action Plan. The seminar would be held in collaboration with Punjab Education Department on December 14 at Government College University, Lahore.