Pakistan marks 10th anniversary of terrorist attack on Army Public School
- 16 Dec 2024
Tariq Butt, Correspondent
As the Pakistani nation marked the 10th anniversary of the 2014 attack on the Army Public School (APS) Peshawar on Monday, national leaders reaffirmed their unwavering resolve to root out terrorism from Pakistan.
Meanwhile, schools across Punjab and the Islamabad Capital Territory remained closed on Monday, with the reason for Punjab schools cited as "the prevailing security situation.”
In the deadliest terror attack in Pakistan’s history, 147 people, including 132 schoolchildren, were martyred when heavily armed militants stormed the APS building on Dec.16, 2014.
In response to the brutal incident, the government in January 2015 launched the National Action Plan (NAP) - introducing a series of kinetic and non-kinetic measures to counter terrorism, one of which was the decision to try terrorists in military courts. In 2021, the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI-led) government decided to review NAP.
President Asif Ali Zardari expressed the nation’s determination to root out the remains of terrorism and extremism from Pakistan. He said the day of Dec.16 reminded the nation to get united against terrorism and increase efforts to eliminate this menace.
The president said the terrorists mercilessly killed "our citizens, including our children, adding that the terrorists showed their animosity towards the public by attacking teachers and children.” "Attack on the children was cruel and against humanity,” he added.
In his message on the APS attack anniversary, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif affirmed that the entire nation was "standing as a wall of fortified steel against the coward terrorists” and would not forget the incident.
Noting that 10 years had passed since the unforgettable tragedy and loss of lives at APS, the premier said, "Our heart is still in grief and we are shedding tears of blood.”
Calling the terrorists "ruthless and vile” in a post on X, the premier said they caused "havoc and destruction.” He highlighted that the children were "robbed off their lives, their dreams, their hopes, their future.”
"No amount of time can erase the trauma of the children who witnessed the unfathomable horrors on that day, nor can it ease the grief and suffering of the families who lost their loved ones,” the premier noted.
"Let us reaffirm our commitment to building a safer, more secure Pakistan, where no innocent will be harmed, no child will have to live in fear, injustice will be punished and punished severely.”
Special prayers and Quran recitations are held for the martyred students and teachers of APS. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) education department arranged special functions to commemorate the incident.
KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur said the APS tragedy was an "unforgettable incident that brought tears to every eye.” "This incident laid the foundation of long-lasting peace in the country and united the entire nation, the government and the institutions against a common enemy,” he said in a statement.
"The grief of the APS martyrs is still alive in our hearts. Government, political and the military leadership formulated the National Action Plan with consensus, which proved to be a correct and timely move towards a peaceful Pakistan,” he stated.
Ten years have passed, but the grief and sorrow of parents who lost those nearest to their hearts in the APS massacre, shows no signs of easing. For them, even if a century passes, nothing can numb the pain and suffering of the day their child, or in some cases, children, were chased, terrorised, and ultimately sprayed with bullets by bloodthirsty madmen.