Increase font size Decrease font size Reset font size

Govt asked to make school massacre report public

Bureau Report 2015-12-17
PESHAWAR: Speakers at a seminar here on Wednesday urged the government to make public the investigation report regarding attack on Army Public School, Peshawar.

The seminar was held at Peshawar Press Club under the aegis of Strengthening Participatory Organisation (SPO) that was attended by representatives of different civil society organisations.

Reading the joint communiqué issued by Pakhtunkhwa Civil Society Network on the occasion, Arshad Haroon, head of SPO, said that APS attack was not an ordi-nary incident which could be forgotten as it shook the entire nation.

However, government failed to share details about identification of attackers and number of people involved in the case, he added.

He also expressed concern over security arrangements for ordinary schools located outside cantonments and urged government to take appropriate steps for protection of students in all other institutions too.

Mr Haroon said that solution to the present security issues was implementation of National Action Plan in real sense. It was need of the hour to make some concerted efforts instead of focusing only on songs for satisfaction of aggrieved people, he added.

Mr Haroon said that bomb blast in Parachinar was a live example of insecurity. He said that government should share details of the investigation regarding APS attack and take disciplinary action against the officials, who failed to complete the investigation process so far.

`We should call a spade aspade at least to satisfy the nation, particularly the parents of killed and wounded students, said Mr Haroon.

Similar views were expressed by Qamar Naseem, Sana Ijaz and other representatives of civil society organisations.

The Pakhtunkhwa Civil Society Network, a group of various NGOs, also observed an `education sit-in` outside Peshawar Press Club and demanded construction of educational institutions in the name of each killed student of Army Public School, Peshawar.

Speaking on the occasion, Talmoor Kamal, Tariq Afghan, Eng Malik Niaz Khan, Gul Nawaz and others said that despite lapse of one year after the APS attack, government failed to establish any new educational institution or a library in the province in the name of any student killed in the attack.

They asked the government to remove all such matter from the syllabus which could cause hatred and violence in society.

They also asked the governmentto take drastic steps for increasing literacy rate to create awareness among the people. Besides, various groups of students and civil society organisations took out rallies and held condolence references in parts of provincial metropolis to express solidarity with the victims of APS attack.

Pakhtun Mohafiz Tehreek,Sikh Community of Pakistan, Peshawar Cantonment, Tehreek-iNaujawanan, Muslim Students Federation, Anjuman-i-Talba Islam, Ahle Sunat Wal Jamaat and Peace and Education Development Foundation held separate processions and meetings and demanded action for complete eradication of terrorism.