A massive crowd is expected to attend a candlelight vigil in Vaughan Thursday night for the lost victims of an attack at a military-run school in Pakistan that claimed nearly 150 lives, mostly children.
Tuesday’s bloody attack, one of the worst in Pakistan’s recent history, sent shockwaves through the world as it specifically targeted innocent people just for being the children of soldiers. The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the bloodshed intended to demoralize Pakistan’s military.
Pakistan’s Consul General Asghar Ali Golo has offered to host tonight’s vigil at the consulate at 7880 Keele Street at 7:30 p.m. Nearly 2,000 people have indicated they are attending on a Facebook page set up for the event.
The vigil’s organizers are asking attendees to refrain from political slogans so as to keep the event peaceful. They are providing candles, but are encouraging people to bring their own in case they run out.
Ali Nawab, one of the organizers, said on Facebook that the response to the event has been “overwhelming.”
“Being so far away, we can do very little to commemorate the huge losses inflicted by misguided savages, but hopefully this vigil can serve as a candle in darkness,” Nawab said.
Since the attack, some schools in the Greater Toronto Area lowered their flags to half-mast in mourning. Another vigil was held Tuesday at the Baitul Islam Mosque, also in Vaughan, and a third vigil is being organized by various Pakistani students associations on Friday at 5 p.m. at Queen’s Park.
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