Manitoba Islamic Association holds vigil for those killed in Pakistan attack

More than 250 people gathered at a Winnipeg mosque to pray for those who died in a Taliban attack on a military-run grade school in Pakistan.

Tuesday's attack in Peshawar in northwestern Pakistan killed at least 148 people. The vast majority of the victims — 132 — were children.

Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a militant group bent on overthrowing the government, has claimed responsibility for the attack.

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• Winnipeg Pakistani community calls Peshawar attack a heinous crime
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In Winnipeg, the Manitoba Islamic Association organized a special prayer vigil at Hazelwood Mosque in St. Vital on Wednesday evening.

"We pray for those who have died, in the absence of those people," said Rashid Ahmed, co-ordinator of the Association of Pakistani Canadians.

Many of those who attended the vigil in Winnipeg had come from Pakistan and say the tragedy affects them deeply.

​"It was shock, it was anger, it was all mixed emotions," said Salman Qureshi, a father of three.

"Being a parent, the only thing just keeps going through my head is, 'What if … it was our kids?' Like, it's just unbelievable pain that anybody has to bear."

Qureshi said explaining the tragedy to his own children — all under the age of 10 — is a challenge, but he said praying for the victims as a family and as a community is important.

"We just wanted to at least come here and pray for them," he said. "Really, that's all we can do."

While the service on Wednesday night was reserved for members of Winnipeg's Islamic community, organizers are working on a public prayer service outside the Manitoba legislature on Sunday.

Ahmed said the community is also looking at raising money to help the victims' families.