SC disposes of Army Public School carnage case

The Supreme Court on Monday disposed of the 2014 Army Public School (APS) carnagecase after being briefed on the progress made by a judicial commission probing the matter.

In the deadliest terror attack in the country’s history, 131 schoolchildren and 10 other people were killed when heavily armed militants stormed the APS on Dec 16, 2014.

Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar had taken a suo motu notice of the APS case in April when parents of some martyred students, including mothers, approached him while he was hearing other cases in Peshawar.

The parents had complained that a few weeks before the attack, the authorities had been alerted by the National Counter Terrorism Authority to the possibility of an attack on an army-run institution, but no measures had been taken to prevent the attack.

The parents pointed out that they had been demanding justice for the last three years and had been calling for the appointment of a judicial commission to look into the incident, but to no avail.

Read: Remembering lives lost in the Peshawar school attack

“We cannot bring back the near and dear ones who lost their lives but at least we can lessen the agony and grief of the victim families to some extent,” Chief Justice Nisar had remarked during a hearing in October, ordering the formation of a commission with instructions to file a report after a thorough inquiry lasting six weeks.

At the outset of the hearing today, the chief justice recalled that the court had formed a commission, and enquired if it has submitted its report.

Advocate general Khyber Pakhtunkhwa told Justice Nisar that 147 testimonies have been recorded but another 109 are still pending.

“Until these testimonies are not complete, we cannot furnish the report,” said the provincial advocate general.

“All right then, we will dispose off this case,” remarked the chief justice. “Submit the report in court when it’s complete.”