Judicial commission to finalise report on APS tragedy after ToRs

PESHAWAR: The judicial commission would finalize the inquiry report about the terrorist attack at the Army Public School after receiving Terms of Reference from the Ministry of Defence.Around 147 people, including 132 students were martyred in the attack carried out by the militants affiliated with the outlawed Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on December 16, 2014.Focal person for the judicial commission, Muhammad Imran Khan, said the commission had completed recording of statements of the parents of martyred students, injured students, school staff including teachers, and investigation officers of the Counter-Terrorism Department.

He said the statements of around 93 people had been recorded by the commission. He added that Justice Muhammad Ibrahim Khan, who was heading the commission, would also visit the Army Public School and College in Peshawar before finalizing the report.

He informed that the commission had sent a letter to the Ministry of Defence for seeking the Terms of Reference before finalizing the report by December 20.The focal person said the commission also sent some queries to the Principal of the Army Public School and asked her to submit the answers about the carnage at the institution.

He said the commission had sought two more weeks for submission of the inquiry report to the Supreme Court of Pakistan. Justice Muhammad Ibrahim Khan, a serving judge of the Peshawar High Court, is conducting the inquiry.The focal person disclosed that the Counter-Terrorism Department had already submitted record and investigation report about the attack to the judicial commission.

The judicial commission was constituted on the orders of Chief Justice Supreme Court of Pakistan, Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, on October 5. He had given six weeks to the commission for completion of its report.

The Chief Justice of the Peshawar High Court, Waqar Ahmad Seth then notified Justice Muhammad Ibrahim Khan for conducting the judicial inquiry as head of the one-member commission.

The chief justice of Pakistan ordered formation of the commission during his visit to the Supreme Court Peshawar Registry after hearing grievances of the parents, mostly mothers of the martyred students. The parents had been demanding a judicial inquiry into the tragedy.