Nobel Prize winner, Malala Yousafzai, has condemned the Tuesday morning attack on a military-run school (Army public school) in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar.
The Nobel Laurette, who expressed deep shock and disappointment at the level of terror targeted at school children, boldly disclosed that advocates like her would not be defeated by such acts of terrorism.
“I am heartbroken by this senseless and cold blooded act of terror in Peshawar that is unfolding before us,” said Malala in a statement.
Furthermore, she firmly promised: “I, along with millions of others around the world, mourn these children, my brothers and sisters, but we will never be defeated.”
The attack was carried out by Taliban gunmen who stormed the school killing no fewer than 141 overwhelming children, teenagers in grades 1-10 and teachers, leaving about 182 others with various degrees of injuries.
Officials describe the attack as the worst attack to hit the country in years.
Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif condemned the assault and rushed to Peshawar to show his support for the victims.
The horrific attack, carried out by a relatively small number of militants from the Tehreek-e-Taliban, a Pakistani militant group trying to overthrow the government, also sent dozens of wounded flooding into local hospitals as terrified parents searched for their children.
“My son was in uniform in the morning. He is in a casket now,” wailed one parent, Tahir Ali, as he came to the hospital to collect the body of his 14-year-old son Abdullah. “My son was my dream. My dream has been killed.”
AFP quoted police officer Javed Khan as saying that the attack began in the morning hours, with about half a dozen gunmen entering the school and shooting at random. Army commandos quickly arrived at the scene and started exchanging fire with the gunmen, he said.
Earlier information from the information minister for the province, Mushtaq Ghani, said 126 people were killed in the attack but about 22 more bodies were found during rescue operations. Most of the dead were students, children and teenagers from the school, Ghani said.
Hospital officials said earlier that at least one teacher and a paramilitary soldier were among the dead.
The prime minister vowed that the country would not be cowed by the violence and that the military would continue with an aggressive operation launched in June in the North Waziristan tribal area to rout militants. “The fight will continue. No one should have any doubt about it,” Sharif said.
One of the wounded students, Abdullah Jamal, said that he was with a group of 8th, 9th and 10th graders who were getting first-aid instructions and training with a team of Pakistani army medics when the violence began for real.
When the shooting started, Jamal, who was shot in the leg, said nobody knew what was going on in the first few seconds.
“Then I saw children falling down who were crying and screaming. I also fell down. I learned later that I have got a bullet,” he said, speaking from his hospital bed.
Another student, Amir Mateen, said they locked the door from the inside when they heard the shooting but gunmen blasted through the door anyway and started shooting.
The school is located on the edge of a military cantonment in Peshawar, but the bulk of the students are civilian.
There was conflicting information about how many attackers carried out the violence, but it was a relatively small number.
Taliban spokesman Mohammed Khurasani claimed responsibility for the attack in a phone call to media, saying that six suicide bombers had carried out the attack in revenge for the killings of Taliban members at the hands of Pakistani authorities. But the chief minister said there were eight attackers, dressed in military uniforms.
Although, one of the attackers blew himself up, others have been killed by security forces. Peshawar has been the target of frequent militant attacks in the past but has seen a relative lull recently.
The assault has attracted a global attention as the United States offer condemnation of the attack.
