Nation observes 6th anniversary of APS Peshawar attack
Last updated on: 16 December,2020 04:35 pm
On Dec 16 2014, terrorists stormed APS Peshawar, killing nearly 150 schoolchildren and staff members
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) - Pakistan is on Wednesday observing the sixth anniversary of the deadly attack on Army Public School (APS) Peshawar in 2014, which claimed the lives of nearly 150 people, mostly schoolchildren.
On Dec 16, 2014, six Taliban terrorists stormed the school and martyred nearly 150 people, including more than 130 schoolchildren. The deadliest attack in Pakistan’s history and the carnage prompted the government to declare an all-out war against terrorist outfits.
In the wake of the attack, military courts were set up for trying terrorists under amendments made to the Constitution and the Army Act. The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) had claimed responsibility for the attack.The mastermind of the APS massacre, Umar Mansour, was killed in a drone strike in Afghanistan in 2017.
Pakistan army said that all six militants who were involved in the attack have been executed. The military courts, established soon after the attack, awarded death sentences to 310 militants and 56 of them have been executed so far, said a statement issued by the Pak Army.
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said today the grief of the tragic and heartbreaking APS incident is still fresh. He said the day will be remembered as the darkest in Pakistan’s history and the sacrifice of the innocent children of the APS united the entire nation.
Shah Mahmood Qureshi said the nation pays tribute to all the APS martyrs including the innocent children and is standing by the armed forces of Pakistan in fight against terrorism. We will rest only after eradicating this evil from the country, he added.
On Tuesday, wePunjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar said the nation would always remember the sacrifices of teachers and students of Army Public School (APS) Peshawar.
In his message, the CM said students wrote the history of a peaceful Pakistan with their precious blood. He said that the martyrs’ great sacrifices united the nation against the spate of terrorism and gave new courage to them.
Usman Buzdar said that the martyred children and their teachers were the heroes of the nation and Pakistan saluted their families.