The Supreme Court has fixed October 5 to hear a suo motu case pertaining to the 2014 attack on Army Public School in Peshawar.
At least 140 people, mostly children, were martyred when militants stormed the school on December 16, 2014 – making it one of the most traumatising attacks in the history of the country.
In May, parents of the victims staged a protest outside Peshawar High Court (PHC), urging Chief Justice Saqib Nisar to take suo motu notice of the matter
A two-member bench headed by the chief justice had ordered the formation of a judicial commission to probe the carnage. The top court had directed PHC Chief Justice Yahya Afridi to nominate a senior judge of the high court for the commission.
The apex court had issued the directives on an application submitted by APS Martyrs Forum. It requested the court to pressurise the government to punish those involved in the attack and those who failed to protect the children. The martyrs’ parents pointed out a threat alert issued by National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA) in August 2014 about a possible attack on the educational institutions run by the Pakistan Army and the sought answers on steps taken by the relevant authorities to foil the attack.
Published in Daily Times, September 29th 2018.
