APS carnage investigation record submitted to PHC

PESHAWAR: The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) investigation officer on Wednesday submitted entire record of investigation of the Army Public School (APS) carnage to the Peshawar High Court (PHC).

The CTD investigation officer, Muhammad Fazil, along with Additional Advocate General Qaiser Ali Shah, submitted the entire investigation record related to the First Information Report (FIR) of the APS attack.

The court asked the investigation officer to appear in the court on the next hearing into the case. On the previous hearing, the Peshawar High Court (PHC) had directed the investigation officer to submit investigation record from December 16, 2014 to January 20, 2015 so that the court knows about the progress in the case.

A two-member bench comprising Chief Justice Yahya Afridi and Justice Qalandar Ali Khan also made the IGP and secretary Home KP parties to the case. They were directed to submit replies with affidavits on the security arrangements made after the National Counter Terrorism Authority (NECTA) had clearly issued a threat alert on August 28, 2014 about terrorist activities to be carried out by the terrorists against the APS Peshawar in the near future.

The court order stated that in the intimation warning both the IGP and secretary Home were clearly addressed and now they would inform the court what steps they had taken after the warning by the NECTA.

As per the order of the court, during the course of hearing the additional advocate general, Qaiser Ali Shah, representing the provincial government was asked to submit the record relating to the matter as directed on the previous date of hearing. "It is a sorry state of affairs that the deputy attorney general present in court in different matters is put to notice and he is directed to ensure that the proceedings of the investigation in the case FIR registered on December 16, 2014 to January 20, 2015 be produced for inspection of the court.

However, at 12:00 noon the additional advocate general along with the investigation officer of the case submitted the entire record. As many as 147 lives were lost, most of them children, when militants attacked the Army Public School (APS) on December 16, 2014 in the deadliest attack in the country's history. The directive was issued in writ petitions filed by parents of APS martyrs.

They have sought recording of statement in the FIR, making public the information about the carnage, judicial commission and action against those responsible for the APS attack. In start of the case, additional advocate general, Qaiser Ali Shah, who was representing the provincial government, submitted before the bench that the investigation record was not in custody of the provincial government. He said that the Frontier Corps had taken the record in its own custody from the investigation officer.

Qazi Muhammad Anwar, counsel for Fazal Khan, informed the bench that the petitioner did not want a second FIR in the case as already one FIR had been lodged, but the petitioners here wanted making public the information about the carnage, judicial commission and action against those responsible for the APS attack. The lawyer submitted the APS school management was informed by the government through letter issued on August 28, 2014 for strict security arrangements after fear of terrorists attack on the school. Despite sharing information about threats to the school, he said no attention was given and out of 14 security guards 10 were missing from the duty.

Petitioner, Fazal Khan, father of slain student Umar Khan, made certain pleas, including the order for inclusion of the provisions of the law related to criminal negligence in the FIR registered at the CTD Police Station.

Another petition was filed by Ajun Khan, father of APS martyr Asfand Khan. He sought the court's orders for the federal and provincial governments to make public all information related to the APS carnage and the action taken by them after getting intelligence report in August 2014 about the likely attack on the army-run school in Peshawar. Ajun Khan sought judicial inquiry into the incident to fix responsibility for the negligence.