APS Peshawar attack: Judicial Commission records ex-home secretary’s statement

PESHAWAR: The former secretary, Home and Tribal Affairs, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Syed Akhtar Ali Shah on Thursday recorded his statement before the Judicial Commission holding an inquiry into the terrorist attack on the Army Public School.

Imranullah Khan, focal person for the Judicial Commission, told The News that the former Secretary Home and Tribal Affairs took several hours for recording his statement before the Judicial Commission. He said the Commission has given a schedule to the former and incumbent police and military officers for recording their statements.

Akhtar Ali Shah, who retired from the Police Service of Pakistan in grade-21, has served as acting IGP and secretary Home and Tribal Affairs Department in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. At the time of the terrorist attack on the Army Public School (APS) in Peshawar, he was serving as Secretary Home and Tribal Affairs.

On Wednesday, the focal person said, the former IGP Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Nasir Khan Durrani also took several hours for recording his statement before the commission. He was serving as IG Police KP at the time of the APS carnage. The Judicial Commission’s focal person said that as per the schedule the former DIG CTD Peshawar Muhammad Alam Khan Shinwari would appear before the commission today. He said that after the police officers the schedule would be issued for recording statements of military officers, including former Corps Commander Peshawar Lt Gen Hidayatur Rehman, who was patron-in-chief of the Army Public School and College at the time of the attack, Brigadier Mudasir Azam, who was chairman Board of Governors (BoG) of the school, Brigadier Inayatullah of 11 Corps, Major Dr Asim Shehzad of Army Medical Corps and secretary BOD Major Imran, for recording their statements. Justice Muhammad Ibrahim Khan, head of the Judicial Commission, had also visited the APS in Peshawar where he was briefed by its administration about the attack. As many as 147 people, including 132 students were martyred in the attack by the six militants affiliated with the outlawed Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on December 16, 2014.