Peshawar attack: 141 dead, PM Modi appeals to Indian schools to observe 2 mins silence
Islamabad/New Delhi: After speaking to his pakistan counterpart Nawaz Sharif on phone and offering "deepest condolences and all assistance" in the hour of grief, Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed to all schools in India to observe two minutes of silence on Wednesday as a mark of solidarity for the "senseless act of unspeakable brutality" in Peshawar.
Announcing this on Twitter yesterday, Modi wrote: "In the wake of dastardly attack in Pakistan, I appeal to schools across India to
observe 2 mins of silence tomorrow as a mark of solidarity."
In the wake of dastardly attack in
Pakistan, I appeal to schools across India to observe 2 mins of silence tomorrow as a mark of solidarity.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi)
December 16, 2014
His remark came hours after the Pakistani Taliban senselessly slaughtered 141 people, 132
of them children, in a brazen terror attack Launched by its heavily armed gunmen and suicide bombers on an army-run school in Pakistan's Peshawar city in retaliation to the
army's operation against extremists in North Waziristan.
PM Modi told Sharif that "this terrible tragedy has shaken the conscience of the world" and "that
this moment of shared pain and mourning is also a call for our two countries and all those who believe in humanity to join hands to decisively and comprehensively defeat terrorism so that the
children in Pakistan, India and elsewhere do not have to face a future darkened by the lengthening
shadow of terrorism."
India stands firmly with Pakistan in fight against terror. Told PM Sharif we are ready to provide all assistance during this hour of grief.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi)
December 16, 2014
Breaking the news of his telephonic conversation with Sharif, Modi tweeted "Spoke to PM Nawaz Sharif over the telephone. Offered my deepest condolences on the dastardly terror attack in Peshawar.?
Spoke to PM Nawaz Sharif over the
telephone. Offered my deepest
condolences on the dastardly terror attack in Peshawar.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi)
December 16, 2014
Asserting that India stands firmly with Pakistan in fight against terror, he wrote on the microblogging site, "Told PM Sharif we are ready to provide all assistance during this hour of grief."
In a statement, External Affairs Ministry spokesman Syed Akabruddin said PM Modi spoke
to Sharif late in the evening soon after the Pakistan PM returned from Peshawar to Islamabad said "this savage killing of innocent children, who are the epitome of the finest human values, in a temple of learning was not only an attack against Pakistan but an assault against the entire humanity."
PM @narendramodi in telephonic
conversation with Pakistan's PM Nawaz Sharif pic.twitter.com/W51NPAQ0d9
— Syed Akbaruddin (@MEAIndia)
December 16, 2014
"At a time when the world is getting disturbingly accustomed to acts of terror," Modi said, "this terrible tragedy has shaken the conscience of the world".
Modi, according to Akbaruddin, told Sharif that "the people of India shared the heart-rending pain and sorrow of the bereaved families and the people of Pakistan and stood with them in solidarity in this hour of immeasurable grief.
"He also hoped that the children who had witnessed the horrific attack and loss of their friends would come through this trauma through
counselling".
Modi told Sharif "that this moment of shared pain and mourning is also a call for our two countries and all those who believe in humanity to join hands to decisively and comprehensively defeat terrorism, so that the children in Pakistan, India and elsewhere do not have to face a future darkened by the lengthening shadow of terrorism," said Akbaruddin.
Earlier in the day, the Prime Minister tweeted, "Strongly condemn the cowardly terrorist attack at a school in Peshawar. It is a senseless act of
unspeakable brutality that has claimed lives of the most innocent of human beings - young children in their school."
He said his heart goes out to everyone who lost their loved ones today, and added, "We share
their pain & offer our deepest condolences."
