Photo: courtesy New York Times
All terror attacks are heinous, but ones that target children are the worst. In 2014, Tehreek e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) gunmen attacked the Army Public School in Peshawar. More than 150 people were killed, 132 of them were children.
On May 8, 2021, powerful explosions outside a high school in Kabul, killed at least 50 people and wounded many more, majority of them teenage girls leaving class.
The attack is one of many such attacks by the Taliban and its allies in Afghanistan over the last few years that target women, civil society, and media. In January 2021, two women judges were killed by unknown gunmen in an ambush. In March, three women who worked for a local Afghan radio and TV station were shot dead in Jalalabad.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) strongly condemned the brutal terrorist attack noting: “It is a matter of grave concern that the number of civilians killed and injured in the prolonged armed conflict in this region has been rising instead of coming down, in violation of all humanitarian laws. HRCP appeals to all parties with any stake in the conflict to pledge an immediate ceasefire and enter negotiations to resolve political differences. International bodies too have a responsibility to monitor the human rights situation in the region and play a transparent and active role in bringing about a peaceful solution. We share the grief of the victims’ families and express our deepest condolences.”
