The AHRC calls upon the Government and the United Nations to ensure impartial inquiry into the massacre of the children and the associated security failures
The Pakistan Government must take the military establishment to task, for failing to protect the 141 innocent children and staff killed by the Taliban
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) unequivocally condemns the attack by the Taliban on 16th December in a school in Peshawar, killing 132 children and nine staff members.
The world is still reeling from the chilling and horrifying suicide attack by the Taliban on 16th December, on a school in Peshawar, capital city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province killing 141, including mostly children, the principal, teachers and other staff of the Army administered School. Immediately following the attack a Taliban spokesperson claimed that they killed the children in revenge for military action, Zarb-e-Azb by the government security forces. Pakistan has continuously suffered from terrorism, by the Taliban and other terror groups since 1980s when Pakistan commenced hiring militants to operate against the Soviet aggression in Afghanistan.
The Government of Pakistan has failed to ensure the security of people including the children from attacks by terrorist organizations. It had particularly failed to take effective actions against the failures of the military to protect its citizens from such attacks. Despite the many continuous attacks on citizens by terrorist groups the government has failed to bring any of the senior members of the military to task, for the failures of the military to provide effective protection to the citizens. In this particular attack the school where the attack took place is situated within a military compound and where there is a heavy military presence. Many questions have already been raised by observers as to whether how such an attack could be carried out without the knowledge and even the connivance of the military. Therefore, in confronting the present situation the primary duty of the Government and the Parliament is to call the top ranking military officers to answer for the failure to prevent this horrible massacre on the innocent children.
The AHRC expresses its sincere and deep condolences to the parents and families of all persons killed in the barbaric, inhumane, and brutal act by the Taliban. The AHRC is shocked at the senseless and merciless slaughter of innocent school children, who were in their classrooms, some taking their examinations at the time of the attack.
The children, most of them between the ages of 12 to 16 years were killed after several gunmen wearing security uniforms of the Frontier Corps of the Pakistan army stormed the Army administered Public School, situated in the cantonment area, despite the school being fully guarded by army soldiers. The terrorists entered the classrooms at will, shooting children - many of them who were hiding under their desks. Most of the students and teachers died due to the delay in the rescue operation as army contingents reached the school too late following the attack.
However, such a heinous crime as this – which in fact amounts to a crime against humanity – attacking innocent children in broad daylight killing them by chasing them in and out of their classrooms at a school - has been unprecedented in the history of the country. According to the Taliban spokesperson the attackers were instructed to kill students of higher grades, however no child had been spared shooting and injuring whomsoever they saw at first sight. Not a single student in grades’ 9 and 10 were spared, the terrorists killed all the students in the two grades spearing only one child who did not attend school on that fatal day.
According to the latest reports, the Taliban death squads have posed for pictures before the cold blooded slaughter of the 132 innocent children and nine staff members displaying a Taliban banner declaring ‘There is no God but Allah’. Despite the world’s outrage, the Taliban have also issued a threat to carry out similar attacks.
This cold blooded killing of 132 children and nine other members of staff including the Principal of the school and teachers has finally shaken the consciousness of the rulers of the country including the security establishment. All of whom to this date have remained oblivious to the Muslim extremist terrorism existing in the country. They are now coming out of their appeasement policies towards the militancy’s perhaps as a part of future strategy against Afghanistan since Allied forces left the country in 2015. Most of the strategic planners and trainers of the Taliban militia and other Islamic militant groups are retired army officers who during their service have also siphoned massive amounts of public funds in establishing undemocratic and religious biases in the country. This is the main reason that Islamic militants have never stopped their attacks on military, naval, Air force and ISI installations after the 9/11 incident in 2001 when Pakistan proclaimed to be a partner in the war against terror. In this backdrop, terrorists over the years, without any hindrance at all, have conducted many such suicide attacks in public places, shopping malls, schools, and at public gatherings killing more than 50,000 innocent citizens during the past 12 years.
The security establishment is directly responsible for its negligence for the cold blooded killings as they were not able to protect the children within their own secure areas which clearly show the callous attitude towards providing security to the civilians under their care and in this instance offering the children as fodder to the Taliban.
The government of Pakistan must call the Chief of the Armed Forces and request the reasons for the lapse in the security to protect the children and should be made accountable for this failure. The army chief should be made accountable to the civilian government on this gross negligence to protect the innocent lives. Criminal charges must be brought against the responsible military officers for security failures relating this massacre.
One cannot imagine the carelessness with which such a heinous crime was committed and was allowed to take place; the senseless and merciless slaughter of innocent children in the presence of the entire security apparatus.
Time is ripe, for the government and the entire security establishment to come out of the so called “national security” paradigm – which has made Pakistan a paradise for terrorism which has completely halted Pakistan from becoming a ‘nation state’. Because of this paradigm all of the national resources is spent only on the promotion of the ‘threat of war’ and militancy at grass root level.
Given the magnitude of this massacre, the United Nations should call and immediate inquiry into all aspects relating to this massacre include the failures of the Government of Pakistan to provide security to the people. Without a show of strong action by the Government as well as the United Nations it is not possible to prevent recurrence of similar events.
It is quite natural that many parents living in Pakistan would fear to send their children to schools when the possibility of such attacks continues. It is the duty of the government to reassure the parents that security for their children to attend schools will be assured by the government. However, if no forceful action is taken against this massacre and the associated security failures by the military it would be difficult to convince the parents that the State will carry out its duties to provide security to their children to attend school.
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About AHRC: The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional non-governmental organisation that monitors human rights in Asia, documents violations and advocates for justice and institutional reform to ensure the protection and promotion of these rights. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984.
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