Peshawar Attack Gone But Never Forgotten

PAKISTAN TALIBAN: Peshawar School attack leaves 141 dead

Militants from the Pakistani Taliban have attacked on army-run school in Peshawar, killing 141 people, 132 of them were children, the military says.

Terrorist attack on the Army Public School:

On 16 December 2014, seven gunmen affiliated with the Tehrik-i-Taliban (TTP) conducted a terrorist attack on the Army Public School in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar

The militants were foreign nationals:

The militant, all of whom were foreign national, including one Chechen, three Arabs and two Afghans.

Fired on the innocent children in the school:

They entered the school and opened fire on school staff and children, killing 141 people including 132 school children (all boys) ranging between eight and eighteen years of age

They blasted the mother’s heart:

Bomb blasts in Peshawar are not new but this time they blasted mother’s hearts, no one knows how they can heal .The militants went from classroom to classroom for killing the innocent children. Some children managed to escape, others hid among the dead bodies of their friends.

Deadliest terrorist attack:

This was the deadliest terrorist attack ever to occur in Pakistan, surpassing the 2007 Karachi bombing. According to various news agencies and commentators the nature and preparation of the attack was similar to that of the Beslan School hostage crisis that occurred in the North Ossetia Alania region of the Russian Federation in 2004.

Causalities:

An estimated total of 1, 099 pupils and teaching staff were present on the school premises, of whom responding forces were successful in rescuing approximately 960, though 121 were injured. A total of 150 people including 134 boys, ten school staff members and three soldiers were killed in terrorist attack. Reports say most of the children were shot in the head.

Who are the Taliban?

The Taliban emerged in early 1990s in northern Pakistan following the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan. 
The Taliban’s promise in Pashtun Areas straddling Pakistan and Afghanistan-was to restore peace and security and enforce their own austere version of Sharia or Islamic law, once in power. In both countries they introduced or supported Islamic punishments-such as public executions or convicted murderers and adulterers and amputations of those found guilty of theft.
 The Taliban banned T.V, music and cinemas and disapproved of girls aged 10 and over from going to school. A Taliban spokesman told a news reporter that the school which is run by the army, had been targeted in response to military operations.

Responsibility:

The Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility for the attack, describing it as revenge of Zarb-e-Azb, the Pakistani Military’s offensive in North Waziristan that started in summer 2014.

National and international reaction:

The attack sparked widespread reactions in Pakistan receiving condemnations from public, political, government, religious entities, media, and other members of Pakistan society. Many countries and international organizations expressed their condolences to the families of victims

Reopened:

The Army Public School Peshawar was reopened on 12 January 2015 under the guard of Pakistan’s security forces.