Pakistan reaffirms resolve against militancy on 10th anniversary of Peshawar school attack

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday reaffirmed their resolve to wipe out militancy from the country as the South Asian nation observed 10th anniversary of a militant attack on an army-run school in Peshawar, which killed more than 130 children in 2014.

A group of heavily armed militants belonging to the proscribed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) entered Army Public School (APS) Peshawar on Dec. 16, 2014, killing 134 children and over a dozen staff members. The incident took place in a high-security area in Peshawar, capital of Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

The massacre at the school sparked worldwide condemnation and in response, Pakistan reinstated the death penalty after a six-year moratorium and executed many TTP militants as well as launched a military campaign in the country’s northwestern tribal districts to purge the area of TTP militants.

Thousands of Pakistanis have lost their lives in attacks claimed by the TTP since 2007, including an assassination attempt on Nobel Prize winner Malala Yousafzai. The country has also seen a renewed surge in attacks since a fragile truce between the TTP and the government broke down in Nov. 2022.

“No amount of time can erase the trauma of the children who witnessed the unfathomable horrors on that day, nor can it ease the grief and suffering of the families who lost their loved ones. As we honor their memory, the entire nation joins me in paying tribute to the bravery of our children, the heroism of the teachers, the sacrifices of their families, and the valor of our security forces,” PM Sharif said on X.

“Let us reaffirm our commitment to building a safer, more secure Pakistan, where no innocent will be harmed, no child will have to live in fear, injustice will be punished and punished severely. This is a promise we must make together. We owe it to the victims of this tragedy, to ensure that their lives were not lost in vain.”

Pakistani authorities also announced closure of schools and colleges in Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Lahore on Monday on the anniversary of the deadly attack.

In his message, President Zardari said the day reminded the nation to unite against militancy and increase efforts to eliminate this menace, Pakistani state media reported. He extended his sympathies to the relatives of innocent children, saying that Pakistan would never let militants succeed in their nefarious designs.

“The APS tragedy united the nation against terrorism,” Zardari said. “The history was witness that Pakistani nation did not lose courage in the face of tragedies.”

In recent months, Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces, which border Afghanistan, have witnessed a number of attacks by the TTP and other religious and separatist militant groups that targeted security forces convoys and check posts, besides targeted killings and kidnappings of law enforcers, government officials and civilians.

The TTP, or the Pakistani Taliban, is a separate group but a close ally of the Afghan Taliban.

Pakistan has frequently accused neighboring Afghanistan of sheltering and supporting militant groups, urging the Taliban administration in Kabul to prevent its territory from being used by armed factions to launch cross-border attacks.

Afghan officials deny involvement, insisting Pakistan’s security issues are an internal matter of Islamabad.