The Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday held a hearing regarding the APS attack and questioned Prime Minister Imran Khan regarding the matter. SC ordered the government to file a report on steps taken by the government pertaining to the APS carnage within 4 weeks.
A three-judge bench led by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Gulzar Ahmed, comprising Justice Qazi Mohammad Amin Ahmed and Justice Ijazul Ahsan summoned the prime minister (PM) regarding the APS case around 10am.
Prime Minister Khan appeared before the SC around noon and assured that action will be taken in adherence to the court’s orders related to the APS massacre in Peshawar.
The apex court had initially asked the government to submit its report within two weeks, but AG Khan requested additional time from the court.SC accepted the plea and granted four weeks to the government.
Chief Justice Pakistan (CJP) asked PM Imran Khan that what steps were taken by the state to provide justice to the parents of the martyred children.
When the CJP asked the PM about steps the government had taken to provide justice to the parents of the victims in the attack, he answered that he was not in the government during that time.
The CJP asked, “Now you are in power, what steps have been taken to bring the culprits into the court of law”.
PM Khan said, “There is no sacred cow in the country and I believe in the supremacy of the law”. The premier told the court that PTI was the ruling party in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at the time of the APS and that he had rushed to Peshawar following the carnage.
PM Khan said that the former prime minister Nawaz Sharif should have resigned after the attack.
The judges of the Supreme Court asked PM Khan to not deviate from the issues pertaining to the APS massacre when he talked about opposing Pakistan’s participation in the war against terror.
CJP bench said, “You are our prime minister and respected for you”.
CJP Justice Gulzar Ahmed also remarked that the court is not concerned with the policy matters, and inquired the reasons as to why the culprits have not been identified even after so many years. The bench instructed the federal government to listen to the victims’ parents and stressed that action should be taken against anyone whose negligence was proven.
The hearing was adjourned for a period of four weeks. The SC ordered the federal government to implement SC orders regarding the case and instructed the government to present a progress report into the APS carnage signed by Prime Minister Imran Khan.
SC summons PM Imran Khan
The CJP Justice Gulzar Ahmed inquired from the attorney general of Pakistan if the Prime Minister had read the judgment in the APS tragedy case.
The AGP responded that the judgment had not been sent to the PM office adding that he will inform the PM about the court orders.
The CJP Gulzar asked AGP if any case had been registered against higher officials pertaining to the inquiry report in the APS massacre.
The AGP responded, “No finding against the higher officials reported in the inquiry”.
The CJP informed the AGP, “matters cannot go like this way,” and proceeded to summon the PM to appear in person.
At the hearing, Justice Ejazul Ahsan remarked that schoolchildren were an easy target for terrorists and it is impossible to carry out such an attack without inner support.
On Dec 16, 2014, six terrorists had rushed into the Army Public School (APS) in Peshawar and opened fire on nearly 150 students and teachers. Following the tragic massacre, the government had devised the National Action Plan (NAP) to eliminate terrorism from Pakistan.
