Political leaders remember APS Peshawar martyrs on third anniversary

ISLAMABAD: Pledging their support to Pakistan Army in its countrywide anti-terror operations, leaders from major political parties of the country on Saturday paid rich tributes to the martyrs of Army Public School (APS) Peshawar on third anniversary of the terrorist attack.

Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, in a message, urged the nation to make a pledge to build a peaceful democratic society with zero tolerance for religious, ethnic, and sectarian violence.

Paying tribute to the martyrs, the premier said the day will be remembered as black day for terror attack that claimed over a hundred lives of innocent children.

Taking to twitter on third anniversary of APS tragedy, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan said: “Today as we remember with sorrow the devastating terrorist attack on APS Peshawar that martyred our precious innocent children and their teachers.”

He said we must ensure incidents like APS could never happen against so the future generations could be nurtured safely to follow their dreams.

Reiterating a resolve to continue war on terrorism, Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif on the occasion said that the nation would never forget the martyrdom of students and teachers of APS on Dec 16.

He said the authorities will not sit idle till terrorism is purged out of the country, while laying emphasis on promoting the culture of tolerance in the country.

PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari for the occasion expressed similar sentiments, paying tributes to the martyrs.

Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) chief Dr Tahirul Qadri said the APS Peshawar was a heart rending incident.

“We cannot forget how the cruel terrorists injured our souls by mercilessly killing innocent children.#APSPeshawar,” he tweeted on his official twitter account.

On the other hand, PTI leader Jahangir Tareen, who was recently disqualified to hold a public office by Supreme Court, also paid glowing tributes to the martyrs, stating: “Three years ago on this day, we lost invaluable innocent lives in the gruesome APS Peshawar tragedy. May Allah raise ranks of those angels in Jannat and may He give their parents patience and strength for the rest of their lives.”

On this day (Dec 16) back in 2014, six terrorists stormed the school and martyred around 150 students and teachers. The security forces swiftly responded to the attack and killed all the terrorists.

The tragedy that shook the nation brought unity among Pakistan’s political stakeholders who set aside their differences and sat together to chalk out a counter-terrorism strategy. After the incident, the government chalked out the National Action Plan (NAP) to eliminate terrorism and extremism from the country.