Neighbourhood watch: School attack sends shockwaves across the border

Afghan leaders condemn Peshawar carnage; seek to strengthen cooperation with Pakistan.

ISLAMABAD: The massacre of schoolchildren at Army Public School (APS) in Peshawar has sent shockwaves across the border into Afghanistan causing Afghan leaders to push for stronger cooperation with Pakistan to root out militancy.

The leaders have also advised Pakistan to review the strategy it has adopted for many years and understand why the country is facing such brutal incidents of mass murder.

Politicians, media professionals and social media users in Afghanistan unanimously condemned the Taliban attack on the school as barbaric, savage, and inhuman.

During a meeting with Pakistan Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif on Wednesday in Kabul, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said the attack on students in Peshawar was an attack on Afghanistan, Muslims and humanity at large. According to a statement issued by the Afghan presidential palace, Ghani told the COAS that Afghanistan and Pakistan need to join hands and renew their commitment to eliminate militancy and extremism.

Moreover, Afghanistan’s chief executive Dr Abdullah Abdullah said such attacks provide welcome proof that militants do not recognise any boundaries and can go to any extent to send their message across.

Just hours after the deadly assault, Tolo TV quoted Abdullah as saying that militants cannot benefit an area, a country or a government. The country’s chief executive added he was certain the victims of terrorism feel there is no room for the ideology of either good or bad terrorists.

In condemnation

The Afghan Taliban also could not remain silent after the Peshawar tragedy and condemned the attack.

The intentional killing of innocent people, women and children goes against Islam and all Islamic governments and organisations must adhere to this fundamental principle, read a statement issued by the group.

Hizb-e-Islami Afghanistan, led by former prime minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, also issued a statement to express his condolences to the bereaved families.

The Afghan ambassador in Pakistan during the Taliban regime, Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef, also criticised the Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) for killing innocent children in ‘revenge’ to Operation Zarb-e-Azb and Khyber-I. In a statement posted on his Facebook page, Zaeef said if the school was attacked for revenge, it is unacceptable and cannot be justified under any pretext.

Media outcry

Strongly-worded editorials have also been printed in all major newspapers across Afghanistan condemning the TTP for its brutal act that devastated hundreds of families.

“People from Peshawar to Kabul, from Lahore to Delhi, and almost all parts of the world echoed their condemnation and slammed this extreme act of terrorism. This universal condemnation revealed one thing that civilized world stands united against terrorism,” read an incisive editorial published in Afghanistan Times.

The editorial criticised the policies adopted by the government of Pakistan. They urged the ruling party to consider the impact of its policies on the country’s security situation.

Sarnawesht Daily said Pukhtuns on both sides of the border have become victims of ongoing militancy. “This war is viewed as war on terror but in fact it is a war against the history, identity, culture of Pukhtuns from both sides of the Durand Line,” a recent editorial in the newspaper stated.

Hasht-e Subh, a private daily newspaper, billed the attack on the school as a ‘massacre’ and pressed the government of Pakistan to root out militants indiscriminately.

In an editorial, the newspaper termed the killing of schoolchildren in Peshawar a form of aggression against people. “No religious, legal and humanitarian values permit such a barbaric bloodshed of children,” the paper said.

An editorial in Arman-e Melli, an independent daily, condemned the attack and asked Pakistan to “stop supporting elements who are creating problems for its neighbours.”

“The Afghan people consider this a tragic incident as they too were victims of such attacks by the Taliban for many years,” the editorial read.

Hewad, a state-owned newspaper, said that the attack confirms terrorism is a serious threat to Afghanistan, Pakistan and the entire world.  “Terrorists are acting against Islamic, humanitarian and ethical values,” an editorial published in the newspaper stated.

Joining hands

Afghan security analysts have suggested that Afghanistan and Pakistan should come together and establish a counter-terrorism task force.

According to Attaullah Habib, a member of the Afghan Parliament’s Internal Security Commission, this forum could serve the interests of both countries. “Stability in one country contributes to stability in the other,” he said in an interview with Tolo TV.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 20^th, 2014.