Calgarians protest latest Taliban attack on Pakistan school

About 60 people from Calgary's Muslim community took to the streets to honour those lost in a recent attack on a university in northwest Pakistan that left at least20 people dead, with calls for Canada to take a greater role to address the violence.

• MORE CALGARY NEWS |Man under C-Train and car hanging from bridge keep fire crews busy
• MORE CALGARY NEWS |Former Calgarian says New York City 'shut down' by storm

Umair Ahad studied at Peshawar University, near Bacha Khan University in Charsadda, the school where Taliban gunmen opened fire last Wednesday.

"First we are struggling for education, but now we are struggling for peace," Ahad said.

Back when he was in school, he recalls the Taliban threatening people against pursuing an education.

"Don't go to school! Don't get an education!" was the warning, he said.

Ahad, now a Calgary resident, says the Taliban killed two of his cousins for being well-educated. In 2014, Taliban forces killed 141 children at a school in his home province.

When he lived there, Ahad was an education activist with Malala Yousafzai's father.

"If there is no peace, how can they go there to get [an] education?" Ahad wonders.

• Pakistan university attacked by gunmen, at least 20 dead
• Taliban attack on Pakistan school leaves 141 dead
• Malala Yousafzai 'proud' to be Nobel Peace Prize co-winner

Asfa Riyaz shares herconcern.

"The strongest and biggest rival of ignorance in this day and age is education itself, so they try to instilfear, they try to scare people from something that can abolish ignorance forever," Riyaz said.

The protesters hope the Canadian government will apply pressure on Pakistani officials to crack down onextremist factions.