A picture emerges

The attack on the Army Public School (APS) in Peshawar on December 16 last year was not only the worst terrorist attack Pakistan has ever experienced, it is proving to be cathartic as well. It is now almost two months since the massacre and a clearer picture is emerging from the plethora of speculation and disinformation that was rife in the days and weeks afterwards. The DG of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) spoke at a news conference in Peshawar on February 12 and laid out in considerable detail how the investigation had gone so far. There were 27 men involved in carrying out the attack, indicating that this was a complex and sophisticated operation that required detailed planning. Of that number, nine have been killed, 12 arrested — six in Afghanistan and six in Pakistan — and the majority of those involved were Pakistan nationals. This was not the work of foreigners, but the work of men for whom Pakistan was their country of birth.

They had support in the community, including from the imam of the mosque that hosted three of the terrorists the night before the attack. He will not be the only supporter they had. Those responsible for the ordering of the attack and much of the preparation are now known to be Mullah Fazlullah and Umar Amir, both now in Afghanistan and sought there by the Afghan authorities — with whom there is a much improved relationship since the APS attack. Joint working between Afghan and Pakistan agencies bodes well for the future, and is essential if the terrorists are not to exploit the gaps in the security relationship with our neighbour. Welcome as the briefing was by the ISPR, it must be noted that it would have been even more welcome had it come sooner. There was an information desert hitherto, and many relatives of the dead were expressing anger at having little or no information as to the how and the why of the attack, and what was being done to find those responsible. Public relations, please note, tend to benefit from the timely issuing of updates.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 14^th, 2015.

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