2014 Peshawar APS massacre
On 16 December 2014, six gunmen affiliated with the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) conducted a terrorist attack on the Army Public School in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar.
The militants, all of whom were foreign nationals, comprising one Chechen, three Arabs and two Afghans,[8] entered the school and opened fire on school staff and children,[6][9] killing 149 people including 132 schoolchildren ranging between eight and eighteen years of age, making it the world’s fourth deadliest school massacre.
A rescue operation was launched by the Pakistan Army’s Special Services Group (SSG) special forces, who killed all six terrorists and rescued 960 people.
Pakistan responded to the attacks by lifting its moratorium on the death penalty, intensifying the War in North-West Pakistan and authorizing military courts to try civilians through a constitutional amendment.
On 2 December 2015, Pakistan hanged four militants involved in the Peshawar massacre. The mastermind of the attack, Omar Khorasani, was believed to have been killed in a drone strike in eastern Afghanistan on 18 October 2017.
World has been experiencing global spread of terrorism and Pakistan had been one of the worst affected country. Major cities of Pakistan were affected due to terrorism but Peshawar, the capital city of KPK and home to a huge majority of Afghan refugees witnessed some of the very brutal attacks.
Pakistani citizens have faced huge losses in terms of lives and material due to foreign assisted/ funded terrorist’s activities executed through political, secessionist, sectarian, ethnic and religious fundamentalists sponsored by hostile states.
Terrorist attacks staged in Pakistan have killed over 80000 people and inflicted massive damage to the Pakistani economy totaling greater than $67 billion.
Pakistan has issued a number of dossiers exposing Indian sponsored terrorism in Pakistan which include very specific information such as Bank Accounts and Indian nationals involved. It also include no and places of training camps for TTP, Baloch anarchist and others groups.
It was also revealed that Indian intelligence (RAW) spent $1 million for the merger of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) with four other militant groups for terrorism in Pakistan.
India has also been funneling money to Baloch anarchists through think tanks in Afghanistan and other means.
Indian RAW had also invested heavily to disrupt the progress of CPEC by attacking its projects through different groups.
The mastermind of the APS attack was Mullah Fazal Ullah (Killed), other collaborators were Gul Zaman Orakzai, Omar Narai (Killed) and Muhammad Khurassani (Afghan Custody), they were in touch with RAW and NDS handlers in Afghanistan.
The attack is considered as Pakistan’s 9/11. After this incident Pak Army decided to launch major operations against terrorists and eliminate them.
APSA attack is one of its kind highly brutal terrorist activity which targeted innocent children and teachers.
The attack was aimed to damage Pakistan’s armed forces sacrifices and successes in war on terror operations. Further the attack was planned and executed by Indian RAW and Afghan NDS to break the Pakistani nation resolve terrorism.
Contrary to this Pakistan Army and nation emerged as more strong and resilient in its commitment to eliminate the menace of terrorism from its soil.
The APS attack was a great national tragedy, the losses of the parents and kins of shuhada are irreparable but the complete nation stood with the affected and Pakistan never lost sight of its national resolve to wipe out foreign sponsored terrorism to prevent and guard against such heinous crime against its citizen.
Pakistan Army and government extended all possible assistance to the affected families to contribute in sharing their unbearable loss.
Unfortunately the great tragedy is being used by anti-Pakistan forces for self-serving purposes, negative propaganda targeting armed forces and other institutions. But the public opinion has never shattered as they believe that Pakistan Army and government had extended all possible assistance for the affected families and all major culprits part of the terrorist attack had already been brought to justice.
