Tuesday, 13 January 2015

 

After deadly Taliban attack, 

Army Public School reopens today.




 

 

PESHAWAR: The terror-hit Army Public School (APS), along with several other government and private educational institutions resumed their activities on Monday (today) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after obtaining no-objection certificates (NOC) from the provincial government.


A ceremony was held to remember the victims of the Taliban attack on 16 December.
Schools across Pakistan are re-opening after an extended break prompted by the massacre.

Earlier, the provincial government had to face criticism by educationists over its failure to announce a final date for the reopening of local schools, saying the extension in winter vacation had been adversely affecting the studies of school children.
Moreover, Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif also attended a commemorative service held at Peshawar's Army Public School in honour of those who had lost their lives during the Dec 16 Taliban attack on the school
                      
Strict security arrangements were seen in place for the re-opening of APS in Peshawar. The Army Public School management told Dawn that psychological counselling sessions would be given to staff and students till Jan 17, whereas regular academic session would begin from Jan 19.

 The Taliban said the attack - the group's deadliest in Pakistan - was in response to a government offensive in North Waziristan and the nearby Khyber area that began in June 2014.

Furthermore, a meeting of officials from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas decided to resume school activities in the region from tomorrow (Tuesday).





 The school killings were condemned across the world, with US President Barack Obama saying terrorists had "once again shown their depravity". The Afghan Taliban also criticised the attack.


The government has ordered institutions to do more to protect schoolchildren and audits have been carried out on hundreds of schools since 16 December, according to Pakistani media.
The school is near a military complex in Peshawar and many of the pupils that attend are the children of military personnel.