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ISLAMABAD: As Pakistan on Thursday marked the seventh anniversary of the terror attack on the Army Public School in the northwestern city of Peshawar, parents of the slain children, activists and politicians lambasted prime minister Imran Khan and his government for offering an olive branch to the terrorist group responsible for the massacre of over 150 people, including 131 kids.
Currently, the Khan government has been seeking reconciliation with the Tehreek Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an umbrella organisation of several terror factions, which had accepted responsibility for the attack on the school on December 16, 2014. The attack had prompted Pakistan’s civilian and military leaders to act against the terrorists based in the volatile tribal regions bordering Afghanistan.
The military offensive against terrorists in the tribal belt was part of a 20-point National Action Plan (NAP), a security plan announced by ex-PM Nawaz Sharif to defeat what many had come to believe existential threat to Pakistan.
The military assault had forced the terrorists to cross into Afghanistan, where they regrouped and started targeting Pakistan with lethal suicide bombings.
Following the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in mid-August this year, Pakistan, through the Haqqani Network, an ally of the Afghan Taliban, had started consultations with TTP in the war-battered country. Last week, the group had cancelled a month-long ceasefire that it had unilaterally announced on November 9.
Since TTP has announced an end to truce, Islamabad has yet to confirm whether its dialogue with TTP was still intact or halted.
“What right does the government have to hold negotiations with TTP when it is our children who were killed in the APS attack,” asked Muhamad Amin, father of a slain kid. Ishaq Amin, Amin’s elder son, was killed in the attack while his younger son Amir Amin, who was critically injured, is yet to recover from the shock and trauma that he went through.
“Who are they to pardon the killers of our children,” asked Shahana Khan. Her 15-year-old son Asmat was one of the victims of the APS attack. “I’ve seen the bullet-riddled body of my son. They (PM Khan and his government) should feel ashamed for their offer of general amnesty to terrorists,” she said, asking the Supreme Court to stop the government from granting amnesty to killers of their kids.
In a message to mark the APS anniversary, PM Khan claimed the country has “successfully defeated terrorism” and vowed to never “let down the survivors and parents” of those martyred in the tragic incident.
Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif called it a painful day for the nation and asked: “Have we learned any lessons and corrected our course?”
Expressing concern over non-implementation of NAP, Pakistan People’s Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said December 16 will always remain a painful day for the nation. “The nation still feels the pain of this great tragedy. Everyone is still waiting for justice to be served to the innocent souls,” he added.
Currently, the Khan government has been seeking reconciliation with the Tehreek Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an umbrella organisation of several terror factions, which had accepted responsibility for the attack on the school on December 16, 2014. The attack had prompted Pakistan’s civilian and military leaders to act against the terrorists based in the volatile tribal regions bordering Afghanistan.
The military offensive against terrorists in the tribal belt was part of a 20-point National Action Plan (NAP), a security plan announced by ex-PM Nawaz Sharif to defeat what many had come to believe existential threat to Pakistan.
The military assault had forced the terrorists to cross into Afghanistan, where they regrouped and started targeting Pakistan with lethal suicide bombings.
Following the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in mid-August this year, Pakistan, through the Haqqani Network, an ally of the Afghan Taliban, had started consultations with TTP in the war-battered country. Last week, the group had cancelled a month-long ceasefire that it had unilaterally announced on November 9.
Since TTP has announced an end to truce, Islamabad has yet to confirm whether its dialogue with TTP was still intact or halted.
“What right does the government have to hold negotiations with TTP when it is our children who were killed in the APS attack,” asked Muhamad Amin, father of a slain kid. Ishaq Amin, Amin’s elder son, was killed in the attack while his younger son Amir Amin, who was critically injured, is yet to recover from the shock and trauma that he went through.
“Who are they to pardon the killers of our children,” asked Shahana Khan. Her 15-year-old son Asmat was one of the victims of the APS attack. “I’ve seen the bullet-riddled body of my son. They (PM Khan and his government) should feel ashamed for their offer of general amnesty to terrorists,” she said, asking the Supreme Court to stop the government from granting amnesty to killers of their kids.
In a message to mark the APS anniversary, PM Khan claimed the country has “successfully defeated terrorism” and vowed to never “let down the survivors and parents” of those martyred in the tragic incident.
Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif called it a painful day for the nation and asked: “Have we learned any lessons and corrected our course?”
Expressing concern over non-implementation of NAP, Pakistan People’s Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said December 16 will always remain a painful day for the nation. “The nation still feels the pain of this great tragedy. Everyone is still waiting for justice to be served to the innocent souls,” he added.
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