Nation observes 10th anniversary of APS Peshawar attack today
Pakistan
On December 16, 2014, 147 students and teachers were martyred in terrorists attack on the school
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) - The 10th anniversary of the deadly attack on Army Public School (APS) in Peshawar that claimed the lives of more than 140 people, 134 of them schoolchildren, is being observed across the country today (Monday).
On December 16, 2014, six terrorists affiliated with the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) had stormed the APS and martyred 147 students and teachers.
It was the deadliest attack in the country's history. The carnage prompted the government to declare an all-out war against the 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 militancy.
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.
THE CARNAGE
The terrorists began their attack in mid-morning when they entered the school compound by scaling a wall. At that time, more than 1,000 students, many of them were the children of military personnel, and staff were present in the school. They bombed their own vehicle to divert the attention of school guards. They entered the main assembly hall, where a large group of students was taking a lesson in first aid, and started shooting indiscriminately. The attackers, who were armed with automatic guns and hand grenades, then went to various classrooms, where they targeted teachers and older boys.
