PESHAWAR (Dunya News) - The 10th anniversary of a deadly attack on Army Public School (APS) Peshawar that claimed the lives of over 140 people, mostly schoolchildren, is being observed across the country today (Monday), Dunya News reported.
On December 16, 2014, six terrorists affiliated with Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) had stormed the Army Public School and martyred one hundred and forty-seven students and teachers.
The deadliest attack in Pakistan’s history, 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.
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.
The mastermind of the APS massacre, Umar Mansour, alias Khalifa Mansour, alias Umar Naray, was killed in a drone strike in Afghanistan.
Ten years on -- despite the counter-terrorism National Action Plan (NAP) that was chalked out days after the APS massacre and other security strategies -- educational institutions in Khyber Pakhtunkhawa remain a relatively easy target for militants.
The massacre changed the perception of Pakistan against terrorism and people in the country raised voices for a uniformed action against all types of militants.
Following the attack, political parties and security departments formed a National Action Plan to stem extremism and terrorism.
Later, Pakistani Parliament unanimously approved the formation of military courts for speedy trials of the hardcore terrorists.