Tripura students condemn Taliban carnage in Peshawar school

Students and teachers in Indian north-eastern state of Tripura have condemned the barbaric massacre of school children on Tuesday by Tehreek-i-Taliban in Pakistan’s Peshawar.

Children holding placards and candles on Wednesday morning protested against the carnage, which killed at least 148 people, most of them children, at the Army Public School, run by the Pakistani Army.

Students said that the heinous attack exposed the “gruesome face” of the Talibans and it needed to be condemned globally to make the world a peaceful place.

Abir Ghosh, a student, said, “We must feel that it is not just the killing of the children but the entire humanity. I don’t have adequate words to express my feeling. I am just shocked, startled.”

Common people too condemned the attack on students and expressed that there should be united universal protest against the terrorism and fundamentalism.

“Killings of children only reflect the devil attitude of terrorists active across the globe. At this juncture all my students and I as a teacher reassure that our country, our state, our people and every religion will be beside Pakistan in giving them support,” said Abhijit Bhattacharjee, a teacher adding: “You call it Islamic state, Hindu state or Christian state.... that will only create divisions among people and as teachers and as students we do not want any division or boundary.”

About 1,000 students and staff were in the school when Taliban terrorists, dressed in Army uniforms, entered the school through a back door shortly before midday.

The attackers hurled grenades and fired burst of gunfire as they went from classroom to classroom.

The Pakistani Army launched an operation to liberate the school, which serves grades 1-10, but progress was slow as the troops had to contend with explosives planted inside by the attackers.

More than eight hours after militants slipped into the heavily guarded compound through a back entrance, the army declared the operation to flush them out over after all nine insurgents had been killed.

At least 960 students and staffers were rescued while a total of 130 people -- 118 students, three staffers, seven SSG soldiers and two officers were injured.

Meanwhile, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif called the assault on the school "a national crisis" and declared three days of mourning.