ISLAMABAD (Atta-ur-Rehman Kohistani): Ten years have passed since the Army Public School (APS) Peshawar massacre, where hundreds of students were killed, but the victim’s families are still knocking on the doors for justice.
The parents of martyred children reached outside the Supreme Court in Islamabad, demanding justice based on the judicial commission report, which was made public in 2022.
The presiding officer of the commission, Justice Mohammad Ibrahim of the Peshawar High Court, submitted the report to the apex court in July 2022 with the extensive proceedings spread over almost 20 months.
In a conversation with Daily Ausaf, SherNawaz, the father of Yasir Iqbal, a student who was martyred in the attack, said that then-Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar had formed an independent commission to investigate the incident, the report of which was submitted to the Supreme Court.
“But it is a matter of regret that only two hearings have been held on this report in the last six years, and no decision has been taken on it till date,” SherNawaz said.
The victim’s father said that the Registrar and Deputy Registrar of the Supreme Court had assured them that a date for the case would be given soon, but a year has passed and still, no date has been given.
“We came to the Supreme Court, demanding a fixing of the case regarding the commission’s report,” they said.
They further said that if courts can open at night for influential people, why can’t courts open for the parents of the martyred children?
“We are waiting for justice and request the court to hear this important case immediately so that the parents of the martyred children can be informed about the commission’s report and its findings,” the parents said.
Furthermore, victims’ parents told Daily Ausaf that they will do everything possible for justice and will continue their struggle until justice is done.
The APS attack was the bloodiest terrorist attack in the history of Pakistan in which 132 children and 9 teachers were martyred, which left the entire country in mourning.
After this attack, the government pledged to further intensify the war on terrorism, but the victims of the tragedy have not yet received full justice.
