PESHAWAR: Families of students martyred during the Army Public School massacre staged a demonstration on Wednesday to protest reports of the mysterious escape of former Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan.
The demonstrators, led by Shuhada APS Forum President Advocate Fazal Khan, gathered outside the Peshawar Press Club, and shouted slogans against the militant’s reported escape. They also demanded the government to address the questions surrounding Ehsan’s escape and launch an investigation into the matter.
“The news of escape has created a sense of deprivation among the APS victims,” Khan said. He added that the government’s silence over the matter has raised questions.
“How can a terrorist escape from a highly-guarded red zone area? It’s a good joke,” he said.
While addressing the protesters, Khan said that the grieving parents have been struggling for justice but the government has refused to pay heed to their demands.
The victims’ parents said that news of Ehsan’s escape had reopened their wounds of losing their children to terrorists. The demonstrators were also carrying banners, inscribed with slogans calling for justice.
The demonstrators dispersed peacefully after recording their protest.
Last week, Advocate Khan had filed a petition in the Peshawar High Court, seeking contempt of court proceedings against multiple government officials following reports of the militant’s escape.
On December 16, 2014, armed terrorists broke into APS building in Peshawar, killing more than 140 people, most of them children. The massacre, which was claimed by the TTP, had prompted the government and national institutions to draw up the National Action Plan and Operation Zarb-i-Azb was launched by the military.
