Pak teenager killed at Texas school laid to rest in Karachi

Karachi, May 23 (PTI): The funeral of Sabika Sheikh, a Pakistani student killed in last week’s mass school shooting incident in Texas was held here today, with her grieving father hoping that her death would be a catalyst for change to America’s gun laws.

Sabika, 17, was among 10 students and staff who were killed on Friday at the Santa Fe High School in Texas. The gunman, identified as 17-year-old Dimitrios Pagourtzis, is being held on murder charges and could face the death penalty.

She was laid to rest at the Azimpura graveyard in Shah Faisal Colony after funeral prayers were offered at Karachi’s Hakeem Saeed Ground.

Senior Pakistani politicians including Sindh Chief Minister Murad Shah, Sindh Governer Muhammad Zubair and Sindh Home Minister Sohail Anwar Siyal were among hundreds at the funeral.

The body of the teenager arrived at cargo complex of Karachi airport this morning from Houston, Texas. The body was received by family members and officials of US Consulate at the airport.

Sabika was studying in Texas on a US State Department scholarship under the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study programme, to improve understanding between America and Muslim countries.

She had been attending classes at the school since August last, and said that getting accepted into the US programme to study was the best thing that ever happened to her.

Sabika, the eldest of three sisters, was to return home in Pakistan in three weeks, by Eid ul-Fitr. Her host family said their time with her was “such a precious gift.”

“My daughter is a martyr and martyrs don’t die,” Sabika’s father Abdul Aziz Sheikh said after the prayers.

He said he wanted his daughter’s death to be a catalyst for change to America’s gun laws.

“I would like to say to the Trump administration, kindly stop this type of incident,” Sheikh said.

Sheikh called on President Donald Trump to reform gun laws in the name of his daughter.

“You can make rules and law and you can amend your Constitution and change the law of guns, kindly take serious action on this.” Sheikh said.

The Texas attack is the deadliest school shooting since a student opened fire in February at a school in Parkland, Florida, killing 17 people.

That assault spawned a nationwide youth-led campaign for gun control.

Gun control advocates have criticised what they see as minor changes amid continued support for the National Rifle Association from leading politicians, including President Trump.

There have been more deaths in US school shootings so far in 2018 than there have been deaths in the US military, according to an analysis by the Washington Post.