School attack a cowardly act, say Pakistani expats

A heinous attack on a Peshawar school in Pakistan and the loss of innocent lives will not deter authorities from their fight against terrorism, said Khayyam Akbar, charge d’affaires at the Pakistani Embassy here last night after 130 schoolchildren lost their lives in a terrorist attack at the Army Public School in the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhawa province.
The city has remained a flashpoint of Pakistan’s fight against terrorism for a number of years during which the fearsome spate of suicide bombings has adversely affected life in the country.
“The despicable attack on innocent schoolchildren is not only inhuman but also un-Islamic,” said Akbar, noting that the act reveals terrorists’ growing frustration in the face of the Pakistan Army’s successful operation “Zarb-e-Azb” launched in North Waziristan against Tehrik Taleban-e-Pakistan, the major terrorist group. Six terrorists armed with bombs and machine-guns forced their way into the school and attacked teachers and children. Later, they moved into different blocks of the building but were killed by the security forces.
However, the Pakistan Army succeeded in evacuating most of the 500 students in the school.
“The Pakistan Army’s cleaning operations in the north are nearing completion as more than 90 percent of the region has been cleared of terrorist hide-outs,” Akbar stated, observing that since the armed forces moved into the area, the frequency of suicide bombings across the country had considerably decreased.
He prayed for the departed souls and expressed his condolences to the bereaved. Meanwhile, special prayers for the deceased will be held at the embassy on Thursday, after Asr prayers. The Pakistani community in the Kingdom also condemned the “cowardly” act of terrorism by the Taleban. Widely being seen as one of the worst attacks so far, it has caused unprecedented shock waves which have reverberated throughout the country and abroad.
Calling it a national tragedy, Akbar said, “This is a very tragic and unfortunate incident.”
Asserting that terrorism has to be defeated once for all, Akbar exuded hope that the sacrifices of the innocent children will not go in vain as the people behind the brutal assault will be punished. He urged the Pakistani community living in the Kingdom to stand firmly against terrorism. A large cross-section of the Pakistani community strongly condemned the act of rampant terrorism by the Taleban.
Mahmud Bajwa, Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) adviser and representative here said: “This is a senseless and inhuman act” and urged the Pakistani government to take drastic measures against the perpetrators for their heinous crime.
Faiyyaz Ali Khan, president of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP-Riyadh) called it “an act of barbarism,” and urged the government to use intelligence services to crush the extremists saying that such incidents give a poor image of the country.
Javed Akhtar Javed, president of Halqa-e-Fikr-o-fun, a voluntary organization of the Pakistani community involved in intellectual gatherings, described the incident as “a national tragedy.”
Miyan Aftab Ahmed, a Pakistani industrialist and investor also expressed his deep shock at the senseless and cold-blooded act of terror by the Taleban.