11th Anniversary of APS Peshawar Attack Observed with Candlelight Vigil by Victims’ Families

Parents and relatives of the victims of the 2014 Army Public School (APS) Peshawar massacre marked the 11th anniversary of the deadly school attack on Monday night by holding a candlelight vigil and protest march to honor the martyrs and renew their demand for justice.

The families gathered on Shami Road before marching towards the APS campus, raising slogans and remembering the innocent lives lost in one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in Pakistan’s history.

The APS Peshawar attack on December 16, 2014, claimed the lives of 147 people, including 132 students and 15 staff members, while 180 others were injured during the brutal assault.

Relatives of the martyred students and staff lit candles at the Shuhada Monument inside APS Peshawar and offered special prayers for the souls of the victims, calling for accountability even after more than a decade.

Speaking to Dawn, Shuhada APS Forum President Ajoon Khan said that justice has yet to be delivered to the families despite the passage of 11 years since the APS massacre. He demanded strict action against individuals advocating the resettlement of terrorists involved in the attack.

Khan also urged the government to conduct a judicial inquiry and demanded that the judicial commission report on the APS attack, prepared on the Supreme Court’s directive, be made public and shared with the victims’ families.

Highlighting the APS Peshawar anniversary events, he said a main commemorative ceremony would be held at the APS campus in the morning, while parents would light candles at the Shuhada APS Monument near the Archives Library on Sher Shah Suri Road.

Following the APS school massacre, the government launched the National Action Plan (NAP) in January 2015 to counter terrorism through kinetic and non-kinetic measures, including the trial of terrorists in military courts. The plan was later reviewed by the PTI-led government in 2021.

A judicial commission report submitted to the Supreme Court in 2020 pointed out a delayed response to the attack, though it acknowledged that further casualties were prevented by Mobile Vigilance Team-2 (MVT) and the Quick Response Force (QRF).

The commission also recommended medical and psychological care for the injured and families of the martyrs, along with free education for the siblings of martyred students, to address the long-term impact of the tragedy.