Pakistan seeks APS suspects’ handover

Afghanistan detains five men after Pakistan sent list of suspects to security services

KABUL:

Islamabad and Kabul are engaged in talks for the handover of five Pakistani men arrested in Afghanistan in connection with last month’s attack on the Army Public School (APS) in Peshawar, a Pakistani official said on Sunday.

The five were detained last week after Pakistan sent a list of suspects to security services in Afghanistan, both Pakistani and Afghan officials told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

“We are investigating whether the five detained are the ones wanted by Pakistan,” one of the Afghan officials said. A second Pakistani official said another 20-25 people had been detained in Pakistan in connection with the grisly massacre, but some had already been released.

More than 150 people, including 134 children, were killed when Taliban opened fire on military-run school.

Taliban gunmen opened fire in the military-run school on December 16, killing more than 150 people, including 134 children, in what was Pakistan’s bloodiest massacre in years. Many of those who died were children of Pakistan Army personnel.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 19^th, 2015.