Pakistani Christians Cancel Christmas Functions After Peshawar Attack

The Presebyterian Church of Pakistan in Islamabad cancelled most of its planned Christmas functions in light of an attack on an army run school in Peshawar on December 15, which left over 150 people killed, most of whom were school children.

The church still held devotional song ceremonies but reportedly called off other celebrations including a special Christmas dinner with the local community. This footage taken by TIG Media shows a singing ceremony in the Presebyterian Church in Islamabad. According to translations provided by the uploader a woman can be heard at 1.40 into the video saying, “Such beautiful young flowers were taken away from us. The children woke up in the morning and got ready for school like any other day to be education. In the future they were going to be successful adults but all their ambitions have been sacrificed.”

Footage related to the Peshawar attacks and their aftermath can be seen here. Credit: Vin Sharma