LAHORE: The merciless massacre of schoolchildren in Peshawar by Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan has been widely condemned by all segments of society.

Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif at a press conference termed the attack the worst ever terror incident that saddened each and every citizen from Peshawar to Karachi and said those brutal murderers who killed innocent children should be awarded exemplary punishment.

He said it was time the whole nation gathered on a single platform to eliminate the menace of terrorism, otherwise, he feared, terrorism would eliminate the nation.

He appealed to Imran Khan, Maulana Fazalur Rehman, Altaf Hussain, Asfandyar Wali, Mehmood Achakzai, Maulana Samiul Haq, Sirajul Haq, leaders of other political and religious parties and civil society to be united for the sake of Pakistan.

He said the incident could be a reaction of operation Zarb-e-Azb.

Shahbaz said he had conveyed sentiments of Punjab government and people over this tragic incident telephonically to the governor and chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and offered all possible cooperation.

Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar, who is presently in Saudi Arabia to perform Umra, acting governor Rana Muhammad Iqbal and Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker Sardar Sher Ali Gorchani also condemned the incident and expressed solidarity with the bereaved families.

PAT: Pakistan Awami Tehreek chairman Dr Tahirul Qadri, condemning the attack said it was an attack on the Pakistan Army, Pakistan and on every citizen of the country.

Secretary-general Khurram Nawaz Gandapur said at a press conference the nation understood the importance of Zarb-e-Azb operation and it was all the more important for every Pakistani to support the army and the operation that was being carried out in the tribal areas.

He said the party would observe a countrywide condolence day on Dec 17 as all schools, colleges and universities being run by the Minhajul Quran would be shut for the day in Peshawar.

Gandapur said a PAT delegation had already been sent to Peshawar and all possible help would be extended to the injured for their rehabilitation.

PML-Q: Pakistan Muslim League-Q president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and former Punjab chief minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi said targeting innocent students was highly deplorable and painful.

They said they shared the sorrow of the affected families and prayed that Allah Almighty might grant them courage to bear the loss.

AWP: The Awami Workers Party expressed its condolences to the parents and families of the innocent children killed in this act of inhuman brutality, fueled by the genocidal ideology of militant Islamism.

It restated its stance that the Pakistani state and military’s decades-long support of jihad as an instrument of policy (including the failed policy of strategic depth) is directly responsible for the brutal menace of Islamist terrorism that was engulfing the country.

Apart from creating and supporting jihadist groups for decades, the state and military (with the financial and political assistance of imperial powers) had indoctrinated millions with conservative Islamist ideologies for the purposes of safeguarding its strategic interests, leading to the fascist violence killing innocent people in the country.

The AWP also holds complicit in this slaughter those political parties who maintain links with these groups for their narrow interests and subscribe to the ideology of the fascist jihadists.

PPP: Condemning the incident, the PPP human rights wing has announced staging a protest demonstration against it on Wednesday.

JUP president Ijaz Hashmi, general secretary Qari Zawwar Bahadur and Shah Awais Noorani also condemned the tragedy and announced three-day mourning.

LCCI: The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry condemned the terrorist hit and urged all the parliamentary parties to take unified stand to weed out the menace of terrorism in the country.

Camber leaders Ijaz A Mumtaz, Mian Nauman Kabir and Syed Mahmood Ghaznavi termed the attack a cowardly act and an attempt to destabilise the country.

SCBA: Supreme Court Bar Association president Fazal-i-Haq, secretary Maqsood Ahmad and others condemned the incident and announced a full-day strike to mourn the killings.

Evacuee Trust Property Board chairman Siddiqul Farooq and employees union also strongly condemned the terrorist hit.

The Punjab Union of Journalists (PUJ) and Lahore Press Club deferred their protest against PTI activists’ manhandling of media persons and announced observing a black day against terrorism.

JI: Jamaat-e-Islami emir Sirajul Haq has strongly condemned the terrorist attack terming it a big tragedy for the nation.

He said those targeting small children were not human beings, let alone Muslims, and added that the attack proved once again that the federal and provincial governments, law enforcement bodies and security agencies totally failed against the terrorists.

Jamaat-i-Islami chief said this was not the time to think of political gains or indulge in a blame game. “We should stop hurling accusations on others and, instead forge unity in our ranks to face the enemy,” he added.

Published in Dawn, December 17th, 2014