In each issue, the Herald publishes a 'big picture' capturing an important event from the outgoing month. Here, we take a look back at 2015 through the lens of these photographs.

Looking back

January 2015

December, 16 2014 – the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) carried out the biggest terrorist attack in Pakistan's history when they attacked the Army Public School in Peshawar, resulting in the death of 134 children and 16 adults. Over 120 were reported injured as well.

11 militants jumped over the walls of the school, took the building hostage and began their merciless slaughter. Apparently intended as retaliation against the military operation in North Waziristan, they went from classroom to classroom, firing indiscriminately. The tragedy gave birth to many heroes. Among others, there was principal Tahira Qazi and teacher Afsha Ahmed, who put their lives on the line to save their students from certain death.

I am not Charlie Hebdo

February 2015

An attack on the offices of French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo triggered a wave of protests across the globe. Two masked and heavily-armed brothers – French citizens of Algerian descent – stormed the building and shot dead ten people, including the editor. The attack came in response to controversial covers printed by the magazine with offensive portrayals of the Prophet of Islam.

As world leaders met in Paris to unequivocally condemn the attacks, Pakistan seemed to be torn on how to respond. On one hand, there was great outrage against the killings on social media; groups of people gathered to pray for the departed souls. On the other, rallies were held in most major cities of the country to protest the blasphemous cartoons.

Coal mine collapse

March 2015

About 30 kilometres south of Loralai, Balochistan, lies the village of Dukki. It became the site of a tragic accident on February 19, 2015 when eight workers lost their lives in a coal mine collapse.

Almost two dozen miners were working at a depth of 2,200 feet below ground level when a powerful explosion caused by methane gas, resulted in the roof caving in over them. Stuck under mounds of earth, most succumbed to death as poisonous gas leaked into the chamber, extinguishing the chance of survival for most. Miners working at other sites nearby rushed to the rescue and managed to drag out 13 people, one of whom died later at a dilapidated basic health unit in Loralai.

Meanwhile, a distance of about 225 kilometres proved too far for rescue teams coming from Quetta, who reached a full 24 hours after they had been notified. It wasn't until the bodies of the remaining seven miners trapped under the rubble were retrieved three days later that the provincial government took notice of the accident; expressing profound shock and grief, and ordering a committee to probe the matter without delay.

The aftermath

April 2015

Twin suicide blasts went off outside two churches in Youhanabad, Lahore, while Sunday prayers were taking place inside on March 15, 2015. The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan’s Jamaatul Ahrar faction claimed responsibility for the attacks, which left 15 dead and at least 70 injured. In immediate response, the Christian community took to the streets across the country, but nowhere more ferociously than in Lahore. Two bystanders – believed to have been involved in the attack – were caught and lynched by the incensed mob that day. This image, captured along the Metro Bus route on Ferozepur Road, shows a part of that mob.

Force of nature

May 2015

A storm of unprecedented proportions hit parts of Peshawar valley on April 26, 2015, leaving 45 dead and over 200 injured as torrential rains, hail and high winds lashed Peshawar, Charsadda and Nowshera. Buildings were damaged, blocking main roads. Access to drinking water was cut off as an electricity breakdown rendered tube wells in the affected areas useless. Unabating rain on subsequent days delayed relief efforts, amid accusations of incompetency hurled at the Provincial Disaster Management Authority. This photograph shows the collapsed roof of a house in the wake of the storm, on the outskirts of Peshawar.

#CricketComesHome

June 2015

The last time the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore hosted international players was on March 2, 2009, when the Sri Lankan cricket team was attacked in the city. It took six years and two months for the game to return ‘home’ when the Zimbabwe cricket team eventually agreed to visit Pakistan in May 2015, after some last-minute jitters. The tour, consisting of two Twenty20 Internationals and three One Day internationals, was sold out despite rising temperatures of above 40 degree Celsius in Lahore. The grand celebration of cricket was soured, however, when a suicide blast near the stadium killed a sub-inspector on May 29, leaving many to wonder whether the top eight test nations will ever feel safe to play in Pakistan.

An unforgiving summer

July 2015

The wrath of nature blazed down on Karachi as well as other parts of Sindh and Balochistan mid-month through June. Temperatures soared up to 45 degrees Celsius in the city – the highest on record in the city since 1979 – and 49 degrees Celsius in the rest of Sindh, claiming the lives of at least 1,300 people due to heatstroke. State institutions were entirely unprepared for the scorching weather, which peaked in the month of Ramzan. This image shows people cooling down at Clifton beach in Karachi in an attempt to find some respite from the heat.

Violent waters

August 2015

In what is now becoming an annual occurrence, the monsoon season brought with it floods and countrywide devastation starting July 16, 2015. The National Disaster Management Authority reported at least 109 deaths while 46 people were injured, with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa being the worst-hit region. As per the Provincial Disaster Management Authority, 77 people in the province died in the flooding. In Chitral alone 300,000 families have reportedly been displaced. This image shows a road wiped out by the flash floods in Chitral.

Counter-attack

September 2015

The ruling Pakistan Muslim League–Nawaz suffered their first significant loss in the war against terror when Punjab Home Minister Shuja Khanzada lost his life in a suicide attack at his ancestral home in Shadi Khan, Attock District. The roof of his outhouse caved in due to the explosion, as seen in this image. The August 16 attack claimed the lives of 17 others. Khanzada had recently been in the news for his actions against banned militants in Punjab and particularly for the killing of Malik Ishaq, the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) chief, on July 29, 2015. While LeJ claimed responsibility for Khanzada’s death as an act of revenge, a week later, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan stated that the murder remained “a blind case”.

Havoc in the holy city

October 2015

On September 24, a stampede broke out, resulting in over 1,300 deaths, as pilgrims performing the annual Hajj were crossing Jamaraat Bridge for the ritual of stoning the three pillars at Mina. Among them were 87 Pakistanis. Many still remain missing; the government estimates their numbers to be 45. This was not the only accident in the Holy City this Hajj season. On September 11, a crane fell inside the Kaaba due to heavy winds, killing 111 worshippers, including 15 Pakistanis. These unusually high casualties gave rise to serious criticism of both the Saudi authorities and the government officials for mismanagement in Hajj operations as well as in the handling of the two accidents.

A grim déjà vu

November 2015

An 8.1 magnitude earthquake – originating in the Hindukush region of Afghanistan – jolted Pakistan’s central and northern areas on October 26, and reminded the country of the devastation caused by the 2005 earthquake. By the end of October, the disaster had led to 271 deaths and injuries to over 2,000 people besides damaging more than 33,000 houses fully or partially, according to figures released by the National Disaster Management Authority.

The government, for its part, sprung into action immediately as Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif made a visit to the affected areas and oversaw relief efforts carried out by provincial governments and army soldiers.

Off the track

December 2015

In a bad year for Pakistan Railways (PR), yet another accident claimed 19 lives and left over 96 injured when the Jaffar Express was derailed near Bolan on November 17. The train had left Quetta for Rawalpindi with 280 passengers on board. Authorities earlier blamed the driver and stated that a “human error” caused the tragedy. However, after initial investigations, PR officials stated “sudden failure of breaks” might have been the real cause.

Earlier this year, 19 passengers died when a train fell in a canal in Gujranwala after the railway bridge collapsed.