4th anniversary of attack: Quran Khwani held for Army Public School martyrs

PESHAWAR: Quran Khwani was held at the Army Public School & College here Sunday as the martyrs of the terrorist attack that took place four years ago were remembered at the anniversary ceremony.

The ceremony started with a special prayer for the martyrs. The national anthem was also played.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Shah Farman laid a floral wreath at the Martyrs’ Monument located at the Army Public School & College and offered Fateha for the departed souls.

The Governor and Corps Commander Peshawar, Lt Gen Shaheen Mazhar Mehmood, joined the families of the martyrs, schoolchildren and staff for the Quran Khwani. They recited the holy Quran to seek blessings for the 147 persons, including 132 schoolchildren, who were martyred in the terrorist attack on the school on December 16, 2014.

A smartly turned out contingent of the Pakistan Army presented guard of honour on the occasion.

Rich tributes were paid to the martyrs when the Governor interacted with the parents. He expressed sympathies with them and said the entire nation is standing shoulder to shoulder with the bereaved families. He recalled that the tragedy at the Army Public School united the nation against terrorism.

Strict security measures had been taken on the occasion in and outside the Army Public School, located on Warsak Road.

The outlawed Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) had claimed responsibility for the attack. The six terrorists had stormed the school after scaling the boundary and headed for the school auditorium where most of the schoolchildren and teachers were mercilessly shot at and martyred. All six attackers were killed in the action by soldiers while the attack’s mastermind, Umar Mansoor, was killed in a US drone strike in Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, the judicial commission has finalised the inquiry report of the terrorist attack.

Focal person for the judicial commission, Muhammad Imran Khan, told The News that 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 informed that the commission had sent a letter to the Ministry of Defence for seeking the Terms of Reference before finalising the report.

Chief Justice of Pakistan, Mian Saqib Nisar, had ordered formation of the judicial 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.