PESHAWAR: Today (Friday), the nation marks the eighth anniversary of a tragic school attack at Army Public School (APS) Peshawar that left over 140 people dead, the most of them students.
Six terrorists connected to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) assaulted the school on December 16, 2014, killing 137 pupils and instructors.
The attack was the bloodiest in Pakistani history, and the devastation forced the government to declare all-out war on terrorist organisations. Following the attack, the Army Act and the Constitution were amended, and military courts were established to trial terrorists.
Umar Mansour, also known as Khalifa Mansour and Umar Naray, was the mastermind of the APS massacre and was assassinated by a drone in Afghanistan.
Eight years later, educational institutions in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa remain a relatively simple target for extremists, despite the counterterrorism National Action Plan (NAP) that was drafted days after the APS slaughter and other security measures.
The atrocity altered public opinion on Pakistan’s response to terrorism, and citizens of the nation lifted their voices in support of a coordinated offensive against all varieties of militants.
Political parties and security agencies created a National Action Plan to combat terrorism and extremism after the incident.
Later, the establishment of military courts for quick trials of ardent terrorists received majority approval from Pakistan’s parliament.
