APS attack case: Judicial commission summons another army officer today

PESHAWAR: The Judicial Commission holding an inquiry into the terrorist attack on the Army Public School and College on Thursday summoned another army officer today to record his statement.

"The Judicial Commission will record statement of Major Dr Asim Shahzad, who was taking first-aid class at the auditorium on the fateful day," Imranullah, focal person for the Judicial Commission, told The News.

He said the commission headed by Justice Muhammad Ibrahim Khan has already recorded the statement of Brig Mudassir Azam, former chairman Board of Governors of the Army Public School and College.

The commission had also recorded the statement of Brig Inayatullah, who had led the operation against the attackers holed up at the Army Public School and College. Major Dr Asim Shahzad would be the third army officer to appear before the commission for recording statement.

The commission's focal person said that Major Dr Asim Shahzad is being considered an important witness of the APS incident as he was taking first-aid class in the auditorium at the time of the terrorist attack and most of the students were martyred there.

He added that the aggrieved parents whose children were martyred in the attack had requested the commission to include Major Dr Asim in the inquiry. The commission consumed nine long days to record the statements of two army officers. On the other hand, the commission had taken one day to record statements of the current and former police chiefs of the province and other officials.

The statements of two army officers including the former Peshawar corps commander Lt Gen (R) Hidayatur Rehman, who was patron-in-chief of the Army Public School and College at the time of the December 2014 attack, and secretary of the APS Board of Governors, Major Imran, would be recorded. As many as 147 people, including 132 students, were martyred in the attack carried out by six militants affiliated with the outlawed Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on December 16, 2014.

The then chief justice of Pakistan had taken notice of the issue last year during his visit to Peshawar, where parents of the martyred students, mostly mothers, approached him with their grievances. The prime demand of the parents was fixing responsibility for negligence on the officers concerned due to which the attack had taken place.