Pakistan mourns Peshawar school carnage

PESHAWAR: In a state of shock, every citizen in Pakistan is mourning the tragedy that left 132 students of Army Public School and College (APSC) dead in Peshawar on Tuesday.



The air is still marred with grief and sorrow as the nation witnessed the worst terror attack on innocent school children in Peshawar. Schools across the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province are closed today while special ceremonies are being held countrywide to pray for the departed souls.

In one of the worst terrorist attacks in the history of Pakistan, 141 people, including 132 children, were martyred and 118 students and three staff members received injuries when militants stormed the Army Public School and College on Warsak Road here on Tuesday.

The Mullah Fazlullah-led terrorist outfit, the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), claimed responsibility soon after the attack. Al-Qaeda Taliban also claimed responsibility for the attack. Talking to reporters, the Al-Qaeda-Taliban commander for Mohmand and Bajaur tribal regions, Yousaf Raza Mujahid, said fighters of his group attacked the school.

Security forces cleared the premises after a nine-hour gunbattle and rescued all the trapped students, teachers and other school staff. Seven SSG soldiers and two officers were also wounded.

“Two army instructors were also among the martyred. They were imparting first-aid training to students at the school auditorium when the armed attackers came in. “A total of 1,100 children and staff members were in the school today. 960 were rescued by the troops. The attackers had no intention of taking children hostage. They came and started firing on the students,” explained Major General Asim Salim Bajwa, DG Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) in a media briefing.

Those killed or wounded in the attack included children from all parts of the province. Most of those killed were below the age of 16 and 17 and were either taking their chemistry class, getting first-aid training at the auditorium or were in their fourth class of the day when the militants attacked the school.

Donning the Frontier Corps (FC) uniform, the attackers entered the school from the back,” Khyber Pukhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervez Khattak told reporters. He supervised the rescue operation on the spot and at the overcrowded Lady Reading Hospital.

The body of school principal, Tahira Ikram of Landi Arbab village, was recovered later in the day while clearing the building. She was martyred while protecting the 1,100 children under her charge.

A state of emergency was declared at the Lady Reading Hospital and the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) where bodies and the wounded were taken. Anxious parents and relatives waited in and outside these hospitals for hours as the children received treatment. Others rushed there to look for the bodies of their near and dear ones.

Touching scenes were witnessed outside the school and inside the hospitals. Many parents who were anxiously waiting for their children hugged and kissed them when they were rescued by the security personnel.

Others were seen crying and fainting on Warsak Road and Khyber Road while praying for the safe release of their children.

Not only parents and close relatives but doctors, nurses, paramedics, visiting politicians and media persons covering the events also broke into tears after seeing the young kids fighting for their life at the hospitals.

The country is observing a day of mourning today while several ceremonies are being held in different across the country to pray for the departed souls and offer condolences.