Some days that reminds us of the dark days we’ve been through. Telling us how brutal our enemy is which has no moral and urges us to eliminate them once and for all to maintain peace in the country. The Barbaric act of terrorist and a catastrophe was a shame for humanity as a gruesome act of violence which no one would ever think.
More than 148 people, most of them children, were killed in the attack on Peshawar’s Army Public School on December 16, 2014, making it the second deadliest attack in the country’s history.
The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, an umbrella group of armed groups that had been fighting the Pakistani state since 2007, soon claimed responsibility for the assault. In a statement, the Pakistan Taliban claimed the children were legitimate targets because they were studying at a military-run school.
There have been attacks before and since the APS attack that have been shocking and vile: the Benazir Bhutto assassination, church bombings, market bombings, mosque bombings, hotel bombings, attacks on airport, police and security agencies, massacre of Hazaras — all wreaking terrible havoc and leaving deep scars across the country. The monstrousness of the APS attack, however, almost defies understanding.
A very large number of children killed in a school is a country on the verge of failure that nobody can deny. The attack unleashed a wave of revulsion and galvanized public opinion against terrorists and militants. Operation Zarb-i-Azb, launched six months earlier, was intensified. In an unfortunate spirit of vengeance, the moratorium on the death penalty was lifted.
Five years later, did APS truly mark a decisive turn against extremism, militancy and terrorism? Sadly, the spirit of the victims of APS has not been honored.
While Pakistan is generally more stable and secure than it has been in a number of years, the fight against extremism envisaged in NAP has gone nowhere. Drawn up hastily after the APS attack, NAP was more a statement of intent than a detailed guide to fighting and defeating extremism in the country. But it is important because it reflects a national consensus and was the first time an attempt was made to define and systematically confront the threat of extremism in the country.
Today, while some forms of militancy and terrorism have been diminished, the extremist threat is arguably greater than it has ever been.
The failure is total and collective — civil and military, provincial and federal. Whether out of fear, incompetence, complicity or a combination of all three, the state has allowed extremism in society to fester. There will be no final victory against terrorism in Pakistan unless extremism is also defeated.
As the student of prestigious APS institution, I spent days learning during my carefree days which are still a source of joy. Overcoming feelings of anger, grief & absolute incapacity of being unable to do anything to make a difference has had an emotional impact. I pray for the bereaved families & hope that such an incidence never occurs again, here or anywhere else in the world. Sanctity of certain institutions must be held, even during war.
