Wednesday 30 March 2016

Happiness cut down: Newlyweds' family mourns loss after Lahore tragedy

Lahore, Pakistan (CNN)  For so many, it was supposed to be a pleasant day out; among the Christian visitors, a fun way to celebrate Easter Sunday. But a day in the park turned into tragedy for the families of the 74 lives brutally cut short in Lahore's Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park last weekend.
Seventeen of those killed were minors, Haider Ashraf, the deputy inspector general of police for the Pakistani city, told CNN. Almost 370 others were wounded.
such attacks.
The attack came at a poignant time for the country's Christian minority, some of whom were in the city's Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park to celebrate Easter on Sunday evening.
But not all the victims were Christians the simple fact is that families from across the city come to use this park, and the majority of the victims in Sunday's horrific attack were Muslim.
    pakistan blast folo mohsin walk and talk cnn_00015027.jpg
    Pakistan bombing: Victims buried; suspects detained 01:58
    Near a makeshift memorial in the park, a sign, stark white capital letters on a black background, proclaimed what so many in this city think: "Terrorism has no religion."
    Among the victims: a young Muslim couple, married just four months.

    Overtaken by grief

    Naveed Ashraf's mother was beside herself with loss. Her son has married just months before, and the newlyweds -- both Muslim -- were visiting the park with two of Naveed's sisters.
    "I entrusted them in God's hands, now they are with God," she said.
    It was the first time his new wife, Shawana, had visited the popular spot in Lahore, one of Pakistan's most moderate, cosmopolitan cities.
    They both died in the bombing, suffering shrapnel wounds to the head and neck that poured blood, soaking their clothes, hair and faces.
    They were buried as soon as possible under Muslim law -- first thing Monday morning. One of Naveed's sisters was also injured in the bombing -- a shrapnel wound in her leg.
    "Everyone who saw (Shawana) said 'she looks like an angel,''' Naveed's mother told CNN. "Well, God made an angel come and take my son away."

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