APS inquiry report exposes local facilitation, lax security measures

ISLAMABAD: The inquiry commission report on the 2014 Army Public School massacre has exposed ‘local facilitation to militants’ and the ‘poor security measures’ in place to safeguard the institution.  

The 525-page report authored by Peshawar High Court judge Mohammad Ibrahim Khan – containing recorded statements of 132 people – was released today (Friday) on the orders of the Supreme Court.

The inquiry report pointed out that terrorism perpetrated by the country’s enemies had reached a peak in 2013-14. However, the report said, this still doesn’t obligate us to hold that our sensitive installations and soft targets could be forsaken as a prey to the terrorists’ attack.

The report further informed that the entry of terrorists from across the Afghan border into the school’s perimeter after befooling the security apparatus was mainly due to the porous nature of the border.

It also added that the terrorists involved in the massacre had entered Pakistan via Afghanistan under the guise of refugees.

The report termed as ‘unpardonable’ the assistance provided to the militants by the locals, saying it was ‘palpable’. “When one’s own blood and flesh commit treachery and betrayal, the result would always be devastating,” it added.

Referring to the attack of the day, the APS premises were left unattended after an MVT (security patrolling team) moved towards the smoke rising from a vehicle set on fire by the terrorists as part of their plan to create a distraction.

“Using this edge, the militants entered the school from the backside,” it stated, adding that the security guards were not deployed at the right positions and moreover, had become paralysed when the blasts and heavy firing started in the school.

The report also stated that the incident has also raised questions on the country’s security system. “Not only were the security personnel not enough to stop the oncoming attackers, but their position was also not correct,” the inquiry report stated.

“Punishments were also given to the concerned officers and personnel of the negligent unit,” said the report.

The report lauded the Pakistan Army’s role for uprooting terrorism from the country in the wake of the APS attack. “No external force could harm the relationship between the citizens and armed forces of Pakistan,” it concluded.

Earlier today (Friday), the Supreme Court ordered to make public a report into the Army Public School (APS) massacre in a decision that comes six years after 144 children were martyred in a Peshawar school.