This heartbreaking picture gallery shows the faces of some of the 148 innocent children slaughtered by Taliban militants as they stormed a school in the deadliest terrorist attack in Pakistan’s history.
As mass funerals took place across Peshawar on the first of three days of national mourning, the identities of those murdered by the gloating gunmen at the military-run school began to emerge.
Among those who lost their lives were two teachers who were allegedly burned to death in front of their pupils as they attempted to help the young children.
Two best friends, who died side-by-side in a hail of bullets, were also being mourned last night by classmates who miraculously survived the three-hour bloodshed.
Innocents massacred as they studied: Some of the 148 victims of the Taliban terror attack
A Facebook memorial page set up in tribute of Mubeen Afridi – one of the two young friends – had received 20,000 likes just hours after the atrocity.
The page, which was set up by one of his friends Mohammad Yassin in the aftermath of the massacre, bore the quote: ‘Our smile is much stronger than your gun’.
Also among the victims was a mother-of-three who studied at a London university before becoming a teacher at the Army Public School in Peshawar.
Beenish Pervaiz, a former Computer Science student at the University of Greenwich, was reportedly one of the teachers who was slaughtered to death by gunmen as she tried to help her young pupils during the attack.
According to her Facebook profile, Beenish was married to Umer Butt and was a mother to three young girls Hiba, Hamna and Affaf. The youngest one, Affaf, was born in July this year, Pakistan Today reports.
As Peshawar began dealing with the aftermath, relatives also spoke of their desperate search to find loved ones caught up in the massacre – only to be told the devastating news they had been killed.
Their heartbreaking accounts emerged as the death toll from the atrocity rose to 148 – including 132 children – after Taliban gunmen and suicide bombers stormed their military school.
Syed Abid Ali Shah told how his wife was killed and one of his sons was injured in the attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar.
Beenish Pervaiz (pictured back left with her family), a former student at the University of Greenwich, was reportedly one of the teachers who was slaughtered by gunmen as she tried to help her young pupils
Gunned down and blown up: A photograph reportedly showing five of the teachers (circled) who died in the Pakistan massacre when Taliban gunmen and suicide bombers killed 148 children and staff at the school
Tahira Kazi, the principal of the Army Public School and College in Peshawar, died after she was reportedly set on fire by Taliban militants in front of her pupils. She is pictured with a man believed to be her son
Hundreds of people attended the funeral prayer for Mrs Kazi, held in a field of wheat crops
His wife, Farhat Jaffery 37, was among at least nine teachers who died while bravely confronting the militants in a bid to allow her pupils to run to safety.
A poignant image also emerged reportedly showing five of the dead members of staff posing for a school photograph with their pupils.
Meanwhile, hundreds of mourners attended the funeral of the school’s principal Tahira Kazi, where her son praised her courage and commitment to the school.
Mrs Kazi was reportedly killed by a grenade as the militants rampaged through the complex.
PICTURED, THE 15-YEAR-OLD PALS WHO DIED SIDE-BY-SIDE
Friends: Rafiq (left) and Mubeen (right)
Two best friends who perished together in the massacre were last night being mourned by their classmates.
Mubeen Afridi and Rafiq Bangash, both 15, were killed in a hail of bullets and bombs which left 148 – most of them teenage boys – dead.
Mohammad Yassin, 16, survived the deadly assault and last night posted a photo of himself with the pair on his social media page, with the words: ‘Friends uplift the soul.’
The cover photo on Mubeen’s Facebook page read: ‘We are a nation of beauty and great grief. Our smile is much stronger than your gun.’
A Facebook memorial page set up in his name had attracted more than 20,000 likes just a few hours after the atrocity. Mubeen’s uncle, Anwar Afridi, said: ‘What evil have we done for a boy like that to be killed?’
Pupils told yesterday how their 24-year-old teacher tried to protect them, only to be doused in petrol and torched in front of them.
Irfan Ullah, who was shot in the chest, said Afsha Ahmed, one of the youngest teachers at the Army School in Peshawar, had given her life to save theirs.
He said: ‘The [gunmen] entered our classroom as we were sitting with our teacher. She seemed to understand what was going on before we did because she immediately stood up and prevented the terrorists from targeting us.’
Speaking from a bed in Peshawar’s crowded Lady Reading Hospital, the 15-year-old said Miss Ahmed told the gunmen she would not let them shoot her pupils. ‘Her last words to the terrorists were “You must kill me first because I will not see my students’ bodies lying in front of meâ€,’ he said. ‘She was so brave.’
Despite her bravery, he said, the gunmen threw petrol at her.
‘The next thing we knew, she was on fire,’ Irfan said. ‘Even while burning, she shouted at us to run away and find refuge.’
The school’s principal, Tahira Qazi, was killed in a bathroom adjoining her office, in which she had locked herself when she heard the sound of gunfire. A gunman threw a grenade through an air vent.
It is believed she was targeted because she is married to a retired army colonel, Kazi Zafrullah.
Imtiaz Hussain
Mr Shah, who works at an electricity company, said he dashed to the school on his bike after hearing of the attack, all the time trying to reach his wife on her phone.
He told MailOnline: ‘I was trying to speak to my wife, but it was not possible as her mobile was switched off.
‘During this time, we heard severe exchange of fire and blasts from hand grenades.’
Ambulance began arriving to take the injured, dead and dying away, but in the chaos, he was unable to find his family.
Two of the victims, Rafiq Bangash (second left) and Mohammad Yassin, (far right) enjoying their lunch break at the Army Public School. Yassin, 15, a keen amateur photographer, posted the photo on his social media page, writing: ‘Friends uplift the soul.’ Their friends, Talha Munir Paracha (first left) and Hassan Javed Khan (second right) managed to escape from the gunmen
Mubeen Shah Afridi, Rariq Bangash, Talha Munur Paracha and Muhammad Yasseen pose for a selfie
Victim: Mubeen Shah Afridi, 20, had been memorising the Qu’ran. His cover photograph on the Facebook page read: ‘We are a nation of beauty and great grief. Our smile is much strongerthan your gun’
A Facebook memorial page set up in Mubeen Shah Afridi’s name had already attracted more than 20,000 likes just a few hours after the atrocity
He said: ‘Suddenly, I got a call from Lady Reading Hospital and a relative told me that my younger son Syed Baqir, who is 15, was there and that he was slightly injured.
‘I thanked God that one of my son is fine. But again I was thinking about my other son and wife.
‘I stayed outside and calling my wife’s mobile number but no reply.’
Around four hours after the attack, he received the message he hoped he wouldnever get.
He added: ‘I was informed about the presence of dead body of my wife in a military hospital.’
Sumaira Mahfooz, a teacher at another school, said she learned that her 14-year-old son Ahmad Elahi had died after reading a list of the deceased at the military hospital.
She said: ‘I want public execution for all terrorists. I will not send my (other) son to school now.
‘The life of my son is more important then the education.’
Hundreds of people earlier attended the funeral prayer for principal Mrs Kazi, held in a field of wheat crops.
Keeping their memory alive: A woman holds a placard bearing images of some of the child victims of the Pakistan massacre in an attack by the Taliban on the school in Peshawar. Aimal Khan, 20, (bottom right), was a talented artist from Swabi, who enjoyed posting detailed pencil drawings of sportscars and people
Umar Hayet, who is believed to have been a house captain at the school
Rest in peace: Azan Turyilay was reportedly amember of Class 9 which was almost entirely wiped out whena suicide bomber blew himself up, killing as many as 60 children in one room.
Aimal Khan, 20, one of the victims murdered at the Army Public School and College in Peshawar, Pakistan
Her son Ahmedullah, 23, said th at he was proud of his mother.
‘She was more committed to the students of the school than her family.’
Ahmedullah said that he last met her on Tuesday morning, for breakfast, the day she was killed and burnt alive.
He told MailOnline: ‘Her vehicle came late that day, so we talked about different things. She was so happy for her students. She told me that she would have a busy day ahead. She left home for school around 8:45 am.’
At around 10.45 he heard about the attack and tried to call her.
He continued: ‘I started trying her cell number but for an hour it remained busy. I tried dozens of the time but couldn’t reach her and after an hour her cell turned off.
‘Later her personal assistant told me that she was busy talking to parents of the students. Her PA told us that she had the opportunity to leave the school.’
‘Miss you bro': Aamish Salman was also among the children and nine teachers massacred by the gunmen
A pupil named as Mohammad Ali of Mardan was also believed to be a member of class 9
Her elder brother Kazi Karimullah, 67, who is a banker by profession, said that she was a passionate, dedicated and committed person.
He said: ‘We were more friends than siblings. She was very sweet person. She was very close to me. We used to meet almost everyday.
‘This is true that she used to give school more time than her home.
‘She had that smiling face. But I could not see her face for more than a second after she was killed. It was so horrible.
‘It was burnt and I could not even imagine my si ster in that shape. I could not dare see her body more than once.’
Mother-of-three Tahira Kazi was very popular among her students, too.
School principal Tahira Kazi, who died in the Taliban attack, pictured with pupils at an investiture ceremony
Mrs Kazi’s body is moved to the grave at her funeral, which took place today
‘She was not an angry principal but a very disciplined one,’ said 18-year-old grade 12 APS student Muhammad Tajdar.
‘I have never saw her hitting a student or in an angry mood. She came to our class last time on Thursday last week and asked us to focus on our studies.’
Meanwhile, the pictures of some of the child victims were released including a pupil who had set himself the task of memorising the Qu’ran.
Hifsa Khush is thought to have been burned alive in front of her pupils after being doused in petrol.
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Hifsa Khush is thought to have been burned alive in front of her pupils after being doused in petrol.
Heartbreaking photographs and tributes have begun circulating online in memory of the students who were slaughtered when Taliban militants stormed their military school in Peshawar.
Among them was Mubeen Shah Afridi who has already attracted 20,000 likes on a Facebook memorial page set up in his name just a few hours after the atrocity.
The group’s biography page describes Mubeen as a hero, whose death ‘would never be forgotten nor would it get wasted’
A caption under the cover picture on his own Facebook page read: ‘We are a nation of beauty and great grief. Our smile is much stronger than your gun’.
He had been trying to learn the Islamic religious text from memory.
The identities of the victims were revealed as more horrifying accounts emerged from survivors including one teenager who told how his friends were cut down as gunmen opened fire ‘like hell’ during a first-aid class.
Meanwhile, the first devastating images emerged of the blood-soaked classrooms where the children and nine of their teachers were massacred.
Other pupils who lost their lives were teenagers Rafiq Bangash and Mohammad Yassin.
A poignant image was posted on Twitter showing the pair enjoying a lunch break at the school with two friends who survived the massacre, with the message: ‘They all are martyred – may their souls rest in peace’.
Mohammad, 15, a keen amateur photographer, had originally posted the photo on his social media page, with the caption: ‘Friends uplift the soul.’
Their two friends who managed to escape the killing spree, Talha Munir Paracha and Hassan Javed Khan, later changed their profile pictures to an all-black image in mourning for Pakistan’s ‘Black Day’.
‘Salute to you brave men': Coffins carrying Pakistani commandos who died while trying to save the children
In the latest horrifying story from child survivors, Ehsan Elahi, 13, told how he survived by playing dead after being shot twice in the arm as militants ‘sprayed bullets like hell’ into his class, turning the room into a ‘pool of blood and death’.
Speaking to MailOnline from his hospital bed, the eight-grade pupil said he was being taught first aid by army instructors in the main hall when he heard the sound of gunfire drawing nearer.
He said: ‘Our teachers and instructors asked us to calm down but the sound of the bullets started came closer and closer.
‘In the next minute, the glass of windows and doors of the hall smashed with bullets. Some people started kicking the hall doors.’
He said that situation created panic among the 100 students in the hall.
He said: ‘Everybody was trying to find a place to hide but there was not such places in the hall.
‘The students were crying and weeping.
‘There were only chairs and benches to hide behind in the hall. I jumped behind a bench and laid on the ground.’
He said the attackers burst in and started ‘spraying bullets like hell’.
Shocking: The scene of the final gun battle between the jihadists and Pakistani soldiers
Elahi continued: ‘I saw army instructors falling on the ground first. I saw many of my friends getting bullets on their heads, chests, arms and legs right in front of me.
‘Their body parts and blood were flying like small pieces of cotton in the class room.
‘Warm blood and flesh of my friends fell on my face and other parts of my body. It was horrible.
‘They kept on firing bullets for at least 10 minutes and then stopped. It was a pause of a maximum of a minute.
‘Next moment, they started spraying bullets again towards those who were crying with pain or moving. I also received two bullets on my right arm .
‘I wanted to cry with my full voice but I held my pain and did not cry because it meant death.’
Elahi explained how his life was eventually saved by Pakistani soldiers.
Other pupils who lost their lives wereteenagers Rafiq Bangash and Mohammad Yassin.
A poignant image was posted on Twitter showing the pair enjoying a lunch break at the school with two friends who survived the massacre, with the message: ‘They all are martyred – may their souls rest in peace’.
Chairs are upturned and blood stains the floor at the Army Public School auditorium
Mohammad, 15, a keen amateur photographer, had originally posted the photo on his social media page, with the caption: ‘Friends uplift the soul.’
Their two friends who managed to escape the killing spree, Talha Munir Paracha and Hassan Javed Khan, later changed their profile pictures to an all-black image in mourning for Pakistan’s ‘Black Day’.
In the latest horrifying story from child survivors, Ehsan Elahi, 13, told how he survived by playing dead after being shot twice in the arm as militants ‘sprayed bullets like hell’ into his class, turning the room into a ‘pool of blood and death’.
‘I wanted to cry with my full voice but I held my pain and did not cry because it meant death.’
Elahi explained how his life was eventually saved by Pakistani soldiers.
He said: ‘They were not ready to leave alive even a single person present in the hall. After around 15 minutes, we heard some bullets shots from outside.
‘I think army soldiers reached the school by that time and they fired those bullets. This diverted the attention of the attackers.
‘They ran out from the hall. But, I did not move or cried for next 10 minutes unless army men came to rescue us.
‘The hall has turned to pool of blood and death. Human blood, flesh and body parts were scattered every where.
Tragic scene: Pakistani journalists film and photograph inside an auditorium of the Army Public School
‘I saw lifeless faces of many of my friends when I was leaving the hall. Their faces are still in front of my eyes.’
Speaking to MailOnline from his hospital bed, the eight-grade pupil said he was being taught first aid by army instructors in the main hall when he heard the sound of gunfire drawing nearer.
‘Their body parts and blood were flying like small pieces of cotton in the class room.
‘Warm blood and flesh of my friends fell on my face and other parts of my body. It was horrible.
‘They kept on firing bullets for at least 10 minutes and then stopped. It was a pause of a maximum of a minute.
‘Next moment, they started spraying bullets again towards those who werecrying with pain or moving. I also received two bullets on my right arm.
Another pupil told how he watched his female teacher being burned alive as she courageously stood in the path of the terrorists and told her children to run for their lives.
Afsha Ahmed, 24, confronted the marauding gunmen when they burst into her classroom and told them: ‘You can only kill my students over my deadbody.’ Â
As people around the world united to condemn the attack, the Taliban gloatingly published pictures of the men responsible for the slaughter
Sick: These are the men who turned their assault weapons on innocent children and teachers
The militants doused her with petrol and set her alight, but she still mustered the strength to beckon her pupils to flee.
One of her students, 15-year-old Irfan Ullah, wept as he recalled her incredible bravery.
He said: ‘She was a hero, so brave. She jumped up and stood between us and the terrorists before they could target us.
‘She warned them: ‘You can only kill them over my dead body’. I remember her last words – she said: ‘I won’t see my students lying in blood on the floor’.
Irfan, who suffered serious injuries to his chest and stomach in the chaos, said he hoped Mrs Ahmed would forgive him for not trying to protect her and for any mistakes he ever made in class.
‘I felt so selfish as we ran away to safe our lives instead of trying to save our teacher who sacrificed her life for our better tomorrow,’ he added.
Horrifying pictures revealed the carnage wrought by seven extremist gunmen who sprayed children with bullets as they sat receiving first aid tuition and exploded suicide bombs in a room of 60 pupils.
As the Pakistani city of Peshawar began the harrowing process of conducting mass funerals, the family of a teacher torched alive in front of her class gathered to say funeral prayers.
Tahira Kazi, the principal of the Army Public School and College in Peshawar, was set on fire by jihadists who slaughtered so many.
It is believed she was targeted because she is married to a retired army colonel, Kazi Zafrullah.
The picture obtained shows her standing proudly next to a student believed to be her son.
Today the Pakistani prime minister lifted a moratorium on the death penalty, as the school reopened to reveal the terrifying aftermath of the atrocity, including Mrs Kazi’s office, where a terrorist blew himself up.
