By BR Web Desk

Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that the country will never let down the survivors and parents of the martyred children of the Army Public School (APS) attack.

On the seventh anniversary of the brutal attack in APS in Peshawar in 2014, the PM in a tweet on Thursday said that Pakistan has successfully defeated terrorism.

"I reiterate we will never let down the survivors & parents of our martyred children. There is zero tolerance for violence & those using it as a tool," he said.

On this day in 2014, more than 149 people, including 132 children and staff members lost their lives in a blatant act of terrorism in APS, Peshawar.

Govt seeks three weeks to submit report

Earlier, the government sought three weeks’ time from the Supreme Court (SC) for submitting a report on the APS attack case. A report by the Additional Attorney General Sajid Ilyas Bhatti said that the PM had formed a four-member cabinet committee to meet the parents of children of the APS to hear their grievances.

Appearing before the SC, PM told the bench that he believes in the rule of law, adding “there is no holy cow and no one is above the law”. He asked the bench if they (the judges) pass an order [for the registration of FIRs] he will follow it. “My job is to implement the apex court’s order,” he added.

Imran Khan said that after the APS tragic incident, all the political parties met and agreed on a National Action Plan. “Our government has improved the National Action Plan, and set up a National Intelligence Coordination Committee, due to that many attacks could be avoided.”

In its order on November 10, Chief Justice of Pakistan Gulzar Ahmed had directed that a report signed by the prime minister should be submitted before the top court.

This story was first published in Business Recorder on Dec 16, 2021.