Nine years pass after APS attack

Today Pakistan is observing the ninth anniversary of the terrorist attack on the Army Public School Peshawar which took the lives of 144 people, mostly students.

The heinous attack happened in 2014 and is widely described as Pakistan’s 9/11 for the shockwaves it created nationally and internationally. Schools were shut down in the country due to the security risk whereas vigils were held all over the world.

Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility for the attack.

Following the attack, Pakistan’s military and civil leadership sat down to formulate a National Action Plan which primarily aimed at curbing the menace of terrorism. Different military operations were launched to root out several militant elements in the country. The most prominent operations were Zarb-e-Azab and Radul Fassad.

Pakistan stands out as one of the worst victims of terrorism with over 80,000 lives lost and economic loss surpassing $150 billion.

However, the menace is resurfacing with Pakistan a considerable increase in terror activities in recent months, especially in KP and Balochistan, after TTP ended its ceasefire with the government in November last year.

Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) in a report showed that the country experienced a 34 percent increase in anti-state violence last month.