ISLAMABAD: An important lesson of the December 16, 2014 massacre of nearly 150 students and staff of Army Public School Peshawar on this day is to look inwardly and shed any doubt that the militants must be fought to the end and not appeased.

This was stated by the Senator Farhatullah Babar president of the human rights cell of the PPPP while addressing the civil society demonstration in Islamabad Saturday evening to commemorate the APS martyrs.

“December 16 is a dark day in the history of the country on this day that innocent students were martyred in a school in highly secured zone of the city and earlier in 1971 Pakistan broke into two after humiliating surrender in Dacca.

“Introspection and an admission of mistakes on such a day is no shame”.

The APS tragedy and the recent resurgence of terror in the country is a reminder that state’s security and foreign policies have failed as the non-state actors are active once again are on a rampage with impunity, he said.

Those who sought to placate the militants and negotiate peace with them last year have done incalculable damage to the nation and must be held accountable.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023