Last week, members of the Pakistani Taliban stormed the Army Public School in Peshawar, killing 132 students and nine staff members. On Sunday, members of Karachi's Christian community took to the streets to show their support for the grieving families.
What had been a previously planned peace walk was instead transformed into an expression of solidarity, calling on all of Pakistan to rally against the Taliban.
The result: an estimated 800 Santas Claus marching together, calling for unity between Pakistan's Christian and Muslim communities.
“We had planned to decorate our entire route with stars and bells,” Anneil John, one of those present, told Pakistan's Express Tribune. “But we have toned down our festivities because of the Peshawar massacre.”
The outpouring of unity in the aftermath of the attack — in a country where as recently as last month a Christian couple was lynched — has been described as "unprecedented."
