2014 Peshawar school attack: 141 Dead

[Double Edge]

The other part is that people believe that just because the school is run by army,so it must be having army related family students.This is not true,as not even 10% of them had army origins.90% of them were pashtuns including of those we have heard of names and seen on Media.

So what can one gauge by their choice of this school ? Any school is ok so long as enough numbers can be had and are not as highly defended.

Why they striked childrens?because onwards the zarbeazb,talibs got serious blow to its capabilities and has lost the strength aswell.They had to stage something to show power by targeting a soft target.

That was my first reaction. payback for n.waziristan. Another Beslan.

artillery & f-16 strikes are going to leads to lots of collateral damage and unfortunately blow back.

[zraver]

Sorry my friend but this is something everyone is against now be them pashtuns or punjabi.

Then why will the attacks continue?

The other part is that people believe that just because the school is run by army,so it must be having army related family students.

I didn't make that claim. I am claiming Pakistan has a blood feud going between two ethnic groups- about middle distance between Northern Ireland and Rwanda. Just watch, more attacks and no wide spread support for the GoP in the tribal areas.

[Oracle]

Something that everybody knows - Pakistan's Tolerance of Jihadis Backfires Badly

[Cactus]

I don't like this blame game but saying that India is all pure and the evil is only Pakistan is not true.

If you had blamed Indians for Shia militants in Gilgit/Baltistan or the Leftist "Jiyo Sindh" movement, it would have been plausible. Indians have a history of doing it (Bangladesh liberation), and they have operationally-secure access to those regions (just across the Indo-Pak border). Blaming the Indians for the separatist movement in Baluchistan is a bit of a stretch (a. they don't have land access to Baluchistan for follow-up actions, b. it would hurt their relations with Iran [which is also having trouble with Baluchi separatists], and c. Baluchistan is too sparsely populated to survive as an independent nation); but if someone is feeling particularly anti-India, they may buy it for a second. But Indians running the hard-core Sunni Islamists of the Tarek-i-Taliban of Pakistan? That is like someone from India saying that the wacko Hindu outfits like Bajrang Dal and Sri Ram Sene are run by the Pakistani ISI! No one is saying that Indians are pure. What we are saying is that in the case of TTP and associated Sunni Islamist organizations, you are barking up the wrong tree.

[kuku]

Exactly what option does Pakistan has if not to be tolerant of Jihadists?

"The question being widely asked is whether Pakistan's military and political leaders can transform grief and outrage into a clear policy that would rid the country of its reputation as both a victim of and magnet for terrorists."

Pakistan barely has enough money to function as a nation, how on earth is it supposed to fight terrorists? If i was Pakistan co-operating with terror groups and ensuring they have enough political power to not take up arms would have been a very attractive option.

Unfortunatly i doubt the people who run Pakistan care, the political and military leadership seem to be very rich and well off, with all their kids in Oxford, Caltech etc. etc....
The people of Pakistan seem to be too busy killing each other.

I can not even talk about the kids who died, for i fear for the many more who will loose their lives, all the ordinary people of this world want is peace and security, enough to raise a family and die with honour, that seems too much for this world to give.......

[commander]

Sigh, Pakistan needs to introspect and stop blaming others for it's own misfortunes and blood feud. Nobody came and danced in streets in India when those kids were killed, there might have been some cyber schmucks who said Karma is a bitch. But judging how Pakistani's are reacting now I wonder there is absolutely nothing else that will make them realize this is their own demon that turned it's sides. Even now according to NS their focus is on Good and Bad Taliban but not the other terrorist groups. What's worse today citing lack of evidence they gave bail to one of the 26/11 masterminds. What the actual fuck ? You know what... fuck you guys and fuck your country and fuck your military and every fucking asshole who is feeding of those innocent kids bloods. You guys are fucking worse than vultures. Even as an Indian I feel the lose of lives and yet you guys are fuckinng harping on Indian hand behind them.

Any sensible Pakistani will be packing his bags to leave the country but even then they carry a lot of baggage with the identity of being a citizen of a terrorist state and they can never live a honest life anywhere and the package will always haunt them. I can only feel sorry for those innocent and not for those assholes that attended the rally of Hafiz Saeed.

[Oracle]

Sigh, Pakistan needs to introspect and stop blaming others for it's own misfortunes and blood feud. Nobody came and danced in streets in India when those kids were killed, there might have been some cyber schmucks who said Karma is a bitch.

Really? What was that?

Sad indeed, they tasted their own medicine and hope the nation recovers from this loss and wakes up the reality of terrorism in their country rather than blame India for alll of their misfortunes. Kids shouldn't have been involved in this, their army would have been justified,but not innocent kids.

[commander]

Really? What was that?

I said they tasted their own medicine of terrorism. I didn't jump out of my seat shouting "Yay 140 kids died in Pakistan !!!! It's time to celebrate lets open a beer and partaaayyyy" .. understand the difference between pointing out where they went wrong and being schmuck about the death of many kids. I too am saddened by the death of innocent kids. I made it clear. Man you are just trying to frame me bad and you haven't understood what my intention was. If you couldn't differentiate between the two you seriously need to check it again. :slap:

[Firestorm]

NPR OnPoint discussion about this tragedy: A Deadly Taliban Attack On A Pakistani School | On Point with Tom Ashbrook

Carlotta Gall is one of the guests. She says quite unambiguously that the Pakistani establishment should look at its own policies of trying to use Jihadis against Afghanistan and India if they are searching for something to blame. Daniel Markey from the Council on Foreign relations agrees with her.

The entire discussion is worth listening to. There is a Taha Siddiqui reporting from Pakistan as well and gauging the public reaction.

[Oracle]

I said they tasted their own medicine of terrorism. I didn't jump out of my seat shouting "Yay 140 kids died in Pakistan !!!! It's time to celebrate lets open a beer and partaaayyyy" .. understand the difference between pointing out where they went wrong and being schmuck about the death of many kids. I too am saddened by the death of innocent kids. I made it clear. Man you are just trying to frame me bad and you haven't understood what my intention was. If you couldn't differentiate between the two you seriously need to check it again. :slap:

Why couldn't you just feel sorry for the kids? Ofcourse you jumped out of your seat and you even cherished that with that post. Your posts in this forum backs that up. I don't need to check anything, you're a Hindutva warrior, who seeks apology when questioned and cornered, and hide behind facts (okay I don't know, okay I didn't knew that, okay I will give proof tomorrow). Are you wilfully being obtuse?

[commander]

Why couldn't you just feel sorry for the kids? Ofcourse you jumped out of your seat and you even cherished that with that post. Your posts in this forum backs that up. I don't need to check anything, you're a Hindutva warrior, who seeks apology when questioned and cornered, and hide behind facts (okay I don't know, okay I didn't knew that, okay I will give proof tomorrow). Are you wilfully being obtuse?

Dude, I don't have to explain myself to you, first of all. I felt sorry for the kids and made sure I point it out. This is exactly what I call stereotyping, the moment I talk about Hindu's you call me a Hindutva warrior. I don't fault you the whole community has been trained for that and it proves that I am correct in that. I merely pointed out that although I feel sorry for the kids nothing will change if they keep on blaming India for it. So do you agree with them that India/foreign powers were behind the killings and not their own fault. Then you got some serious problems man.. You always can only name call people as troll,unpatriotic and hindutva warrior and whatnot. I don't give a damn about what you think. I seriously had enough of you man. Call me whatever you want I don't give a flying fuck.

[Oracle]

Dude, I don't have to explain myself to you, first of all. I felt sorry for the kids and made sure I point it out.

You do, you have a lot of explaining to do. You have not passed those comments in isolation. You did in this very board, and made sure you rub salts into their wounds. Kids being dead, and your comments. What if your family or relatives were killed in a terrorist incident? Would you be making the same comments?

This is exactly what I call stereotyping, the moment I talk about Hindu's you call me a Hindutva warrior. I don't fault you the whole community has been trained for that and it proves that I am correct in that.

Stereotyping? For the insensitive comments you made. Pray, that the Staff in here are open minded and haven't taken any action. Doesn't mean, others would let it go.

I merely pointed out that although I feel sorry for the kids nothing will change if they keep on blaming India for it.

You didn't merely point that out. You made it a tit-for-tat happening.

So do you agree with them that India/foreign powers were behind the killings and not their own fault. Then you got some serious problems man..

Don't you dare point fingers at me, when it's clear even to Pak authorities that TTP is behind the attacks. Don't you even read?

You always can only name call people as troll,unpatriotic and hindutva warrior and whatnot. I don't give a damn about what you think. I seriously had enough of you man. Call me whatever you want I don't give a flying fuck.

Besides all, you're ignorant. You give out statements, but cannot back it up. You wanted a whole village in W.B. to fight with 2 revolver wielding women, and your accusations included the whole village. You are a teenage idiot. Your posting privileges need to be revoked.

P.S.: You're amongst many Indians who need to be monitored. Online, offline.

[1980s]

BBC News - Peshawar school massacre: Pakistan's watershed Taliban moment?
By Aamer Ahmed Khan
Editor, BBC Urdu, Islamabad

For a nation that has lost more than 70,000 people in 13 years to terror attacks, it is not easy to talk of watersheds.

But the brutal Taliban attack on an army-run school in Peshawar which killed more than 130 children may well be a watershed for a country that has long been accused by the world of treating terrorists as strategic assets.

The day after the attack, as a nation mourned and Peshawar buried its dead, Pakistan's top political leadership announced that it was no longer willing to make any distinction between "good" and "bad" Taliban. Flanked by his arch rivals and allies, Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif vowed to carry on fighting until the last terrorist was killed.

As he was making the announcement, Pakistan's army chief General Raheel Sharif was meeting Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) commanders in Kabul to seek their assistance in fighting a menace which he said had "hit the heart of the Pakistani nation".

Could this, then, be the watershed Pakistan has been in search of for years?

The answer probably lies in the prime minister's statement, which is not only about a new intent but also about an admission: for years Pakistan has pursued a duplicitous policy towards various shades of militant organisations operating out of its territory.

Simply put, those active against Isaf in Afghanistan or against Indian security forces across the Line of Control in Kashmir were the "good" Taliban. But those who had affiliated themselves to al-Qaeda after 9/11 and carried out terror attacks inside Pakistan were the "bad" ones.

The problem, of course, was this distinction was never as clear in Taliban minds as it was in Pakistan's policy makers'. Often co-operating organisationally and operationally, the continuously splintering Taliban groups continued to benefit from the fruits of Pakistan's policy confusion. In the process, they consolidated their bases in the country's lawless tribal belt unchecked.

The inaction of General Kayani, Raheel Sharif's predecessor, was an additional bonus for the Taliban. In his six-year tenure, he came under strong criticism for failing to devise an effective counter terrorism approach even after the government gave him complete authority to do so.

Consequently, every fresh Taliban attack on soldiers steadily raised the disquiet and resentment within military ranks - not only against the government but also its own leadership.

That was why Gen Sharif lost no time in launching what he called an indiscriminate operation earlier in the year in North and South Waziristan, the two tribal agencies most under Taliban control.

But still mired in their policy confusion, Pakistan's political leadership's response to his initiative was lukewarm. Gen Sharif categorically said "we will get them", be they Pakistani Taliban, Punjabi Taliban, al-Qaeda and affiliates, or most importantly, the dreaded Haqqani network. But the country's political leadership chose to remain largely silent.

The Peshawar attack seems to have changed that.

Sheer brutality

In the short term, the Taliban may have got what they wanted. They were able to hit the army where it hurts the most. The 128 army-run schools in the country are home to more than 150,000 students, 90% of them are children of serving army officers.

The attack has brought the fight home to the army in its most horrific form.

The militants have also demonstrated that despite the army's claims of having destroyed their operational and organisational capability, they are present and still capable of planning and hitting at will, where they want.

A bonus of course has been the media spectacle that has gone beyond Pakistan's borders.

But in doing so, they have also brought home the sheer brutality of this conflict.

Behind every student they killed in Peshawar, lurked their anger and frustration at what many among them must perceive as an about-turn by a former sympathiser, if not exactly an ally.

For the Taliban, the attack was an act of pure revenge. There doesn't seem to be any strategic or political thinking behind it other than their known philosophy of ruling through terror. It seems to matter little to them that it may have pushed Pakistan's civil and military leadership into rethinking its good-Taliban-bad-Taliban approach.

More important for Gen Sharif, though, is the fact that if there was any measure of sympathy for the Taliban within the army, which was their chief mentor only a decade ago, it must have been washed away in the tears of hundreds of grieving military families across Pakistan.

Does it then mean that the real war on terror has finally started in Pakistan?

It is far too early to venture a credible guess given the historic complexity of Pakistan's relationship with the Taliban.

But what is clear is that Pakistan is now looking for visible and demonstrable revenge - which may perhaps come only from a trade-off with Afghanistan on each other's "good" and "bad" Taliban.

In a country with a 35-year history of rearing militant groups for its strategic objectives, perhaps that is as far as a watershed can go. At least for now.

[commander]

You do, you have a lot of explaining to do. You have not passed those comments in isolation. You did in this very board, and made sure you rub salts into their wounds. Kids being dead, and your comments. What if your family or relatives were killed in a terrorist incident? Would you be making the same comments?

I always sympathized with the innocent no matter which side they were on. You failed to notice it and it isn't my problem. If the mods feel they were out of line let them come to me and you don't try to act smart by naming people everywhere.

Stereotyping? For the insensitive comments you made. Pray, that the Staff in here are open minded and haven't taken any action. Doesn't mean, others would let it go.

When even after their own kids were killed because of a monster THEY fed they point their fingers on MY country and you would expect me to be calm and quite about it ? I am not sure about you but I never take false accusations especially something this outrageous.

You didn't merely point that out. You made it a tit-for-tat happening.

I never said tit for tat, I was only furious after they made their commitment to fight terrorism and then the very next day release the mastermind of 26/11 in bail ? So kids haven't been in killed in 26/11 are you happy they let him out ? What about Haifz Saeed ? Again don't try to be the smart ass by twisting my words to suit your needs.

Don't you dare point fingers at me, when it's clear even to Pak authorities that TTP is behind the attacks. Don't you even read?

Oh I did, I did clearly. Did you read Hafiz Saeed's statement or Parvez's ?, do you even use something called Twitter and know what the mood of some of the netizens in Pakistan ? And you got furious because I pointed at you. How do you feel when you call me insensitive to take pleasure in the killing of the kids then. How should I feel ? man you are crazy let me tell you that and a big hypocrite.

Besides all, you're ignorant. You give out statements, but cannot back it up. You wanted a whole village in W.B. to fight with 2 revolver wielding women, and your accusations included the whole village. You are a teenage idiot. Your posting privileges need to be revoked.

I said it Mr.Know-it-all when I am wrong I correct myself and not keep on harping the same shit like you. I am a teenage idiot ? wow again name calling. Do whatever you want.

P.S.: You're amongst many Indians who need to be monitored. Online, offline.

Haha ... I can't stop laughing... Good luck with that crippled mind of yours.

[Firestorm]

Really? What was that?

Sad indeed, they tasted their own medicine and hope the nation recovers from this loss and wakes up the reality of terrorism in their country rather than blame India for alll of their misfortunes. Kids shouldn't have been involved in this, their army would have been justified,but not innocent kids.

The Afghan Taliban which the PA wholeheartedly supported and continues to support have killed plenty of women and children in Afghanistan. The LeT/JeM/IM etc. which they also support and cheer have killed children in India. Children just as innocent as the ones who dies in Peshawar. So while being insensitive, what Commander said, just happens to be true.

BTW, they released Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi today, one of the main conspirators of 26/11. Hafeez Saeed is already free and going around spreading more hate against India. Zraver is right. Those kids really did die in vain.

P.S.: You're amongst many Indians who need to be monitored. Online, offline.

The NSA is looking for young men like you.