It has been six years, since the horrific tragedy of Army Public School in Peshawar, but the tragic memory of this incident is still fresh in our hearts when armed terrorists killed 145 innocent people including 132 innocent children on December 16, 2014.
The tragedy of Army Public School was one of the most tragic events in the history of Pakistan. After this tragic day, complete changes were made in the security measures in Pakistan and it was decided to execute the accused involved in terrorism.
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At the time of the tragedy, more than 1,100 students were studying at the Army Public School, most of them children of military officers, making the attack considered an attack on the heart of the military.
As soon as the attack started, the Pakistan Army responded and started encircling the terrorists. The Army Public School is spread over a large area, so it took eight hours for the Pakistan Army to clear the terrorists, unfortunately, Innocent lives had been lost during the retaliation.
By the time the terrorists were eliminated from the school, the army had rescued a total of 960 people, including staff and students, from the school.
Immediately after the incident, the anti-government Taliban claimed responsibility for the barbaric attack.
“We attacked the Army Public School because the government was targeting our families and women,” Tehreek-e-Taliban spokesman Mohammad Omar Khurasani said in a statement issued after the attack.
Helicopters hovered in the air during the ongoing clearance operation at the Army Public School, meanwhile, Police not only cordoned off the entire area but also performed the unpleasant duty of preventing the bereaved parents from going to school.
According to schoolchildren, the attackers, dressed in Pakistani army uniforms, were speaking a foreign language, possibly Arabic.
Former Army Chief expresses grief and anger
There was an element of grief and anger in the statement of former Army Chief General Raheel Sharif after the Army Public School tragedy.
He said that terrorists have attacked the heart of the nation but their attack has given new life to their determination to eradicate this scourge of terrorism. He also said that we will uproot these beasts and their facilitators for the good of this nation.
PM’s strong response
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had expressed his grief and anger over the tragedy at Army Public School and said, “We will count every drop of our children’s blood.”
Eradicating the Terror
Four facilitators involved in the attack on the Army Public School were hanged just after the two years of the incident. On this occasion, the parents of the innocent children said that these terrorists do not deserve any kind of mercy and forgiveness.
The survivors of the martyrs expressed their happiness and a father said that “these terrorists should be hanged in public instead of in jail”.
The Armed Forces carried out several airstrikes in the terror-hit tribal region to rid Pakistan of the menace of terrorism, targeting terrorists entering Pakistan via Afghanistan.
Formation of Military Courts
In response to the APS tragedy, a crackdown on extremism was launched across the country, military courts were also established for speedy trials and the six-year ban on the death penalty lifted across the country.
In August 2015, six people involved in the APS tragedy were sentenced to death and one to life imprisonment in military courts.
On December 2, the first four terrorists convicted by the military courts involved in the APS tragedy were brought to justice.
A sense of security
The country is beginning to reap the benefits of counter-terrorism operations across the country, but critics say the government has not taken long-term measures to curb the scourge of terrorism.
Pakistan has formulated a National Action Plan against Terrorism and Extremism, which has resulted in a significant reduction in the incidence of terrorism in the country.
According to the statistics, 170 incidents of terrorist attacks were reported in Pakistan in 2013 in which more than twelve hundred people were martyred, while in 2014 the number of terrorist attacks was 110 as a result of which 644 people were martyred.
According to the statistics of this year, the number of terrorist attacks till October was 36 in which 211 people were martyred.
In the meantime, Pakistan destroyed the nexus of terrorism, arrested Indian spy Kulbhoshan Jadhav – along with his several facilitators. Pakistan also debunked the involvement of India behind the terror activities in Pakistan.
