BBC online :
Pupils and teachers have returned for the first time to the school in the Pakistani city of Peshawar where more than 150 people were killed last month.
A ceremony was held to remember the victims of the Taliban attack.
Schools across the country are re-opening after an extended break prompted by the attack on 16 December.
The Pakistani government scrapped a moratorium on executions after the massacre and moved to establish military courts to try terrorism cases.
Seven Taliban attackers wearing bomb vests cut through a wire fence to gain entry to the Army Public School in Peshawar in December.
They went from class to class, killing 152 people – 133 of them children – and injuring more than 120. All seven attackers were killed.
The Taliban said the attack – the group’s deadliest in Pakistan – was in response to a government offensive in North Waziristan and the nearby Khyber area that began in June 2014.
The school killings were condemned across the world, with US President Barack Obama saying terrorists had “once again shown their depravity”. The Afghan Taliban also criticised the attack.
It’s been a difficult day for many of the children and teachers who survived the Taliban attack.
Some had mixed feelings about going back to the school where they witnessed the massacre on December 16th. Yet, most of them put on a brave face as they arrived at the school.
At the morning assembly, the mood was sombre. A ceremony was held to remember those who lost their lives, and students and parents were greeted by Pakistan’s powerful army chief, Raheel Shareef.
He tried to reassure them that the government would do everything to protect their school.
After yesterday’s symbolic reopening of the school, classes are expected to resume from Tuesday.
Parts of the school have been repaired and repainted. But the main auditorium hall where most of the children were massacred remains closed.
But across the country, parents remain apprehensive about sending their children back to school.
In a country where fear stalks virtually every aspect of public life, something as simple as going to school has now become an act of courage and bravery.
line
Pakistani soldiers provide security during a mass prayer for the victims of a school massacre, in Peshawar – 21 December 2014 The attack on the school, which was an army school, was “revenge” for military offensives against the Taliban
Security has been stepped up at schools across the country since the attack.
Pupils and teachers have returned for the first time to the school in the Pakistani city of Peshawar where more than 150 people were killed last month.
A ceremony was held to remember the victims of the Taliban attack.
Schools across the country are re-opening after an extended break prompted by the attack on 16 December.
The Pakistani government scrapped a moratorium on executions after the massacre and moved to establish military courts to try terrorism cases.
Seven Taliban attackers wearing bomb vests cut through a wire fence to gain entry to the Army Public School in Peshawar in December.
They went from class to class, killing 152 people – 133 of them children – and injuring more than 120. All seven attackers were killed.
The Taliban said the attack – the group’s deadliest in Pakistan – was in response to a government offensive in North Waziristan and the nearby Khyber area that began in June 2014.
The school killings were condemned across the world, with US President Barack Obama saying terrorists had “once again shown their depravity”. The Afghan Taliban also criticised the attack.
It’s been a difficult day for many of the children and teachers who survived the Taliban attack.
Some had mixed feelings about going back to the school where they witnessed the massacre on December 16th. Yet, most of them put on a brave face as they arrived at the school.
At the morning assembly, the mood was sombre. A ceremony was held to remember those who lost their lives, and students and parents were greeted by Pakistan’s powerful army chief, Raheel Shareef.
He tried to reassure them that the government would do everything to protect their school.
After yesterday’s symbolic reopening of the school, classes are expected to resume from Tuesday.
Parts of the school have been repaired and repainted. But the main auditorium hall where most of the children were massacred remains closed.
But across the country, parents remain apprehensive about sending their children back to school.
In a country where fear stalks virtually every aspect of public life, something as simple as going to school has now become an act of courage and bravery.
line
Pakistani soldiers provide security during a mass prayer for the victims of a school massacre, in Peshawar – 21 December 2014 The attack on the school, which was an army school, was “revenge” for military offensives against the Taliban
Security has been stepped up at schools across the country since the attack.
