PESHAWAR: A Peshawar High Court bench on Tuesday sought replies from the federal and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governments to an application filed by mothers of around 30 students killed in the 2014 militant attack on the Army Public School Peshawar requesting to make the applicants part of an already filed writ petition seeking to make all carnage records public.

Chief Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel and Justice Mohammad Daud Khan directed the representatives of the federal and provincial governments to file their respective replies and explain whether they had any objection to the plea made by the applicants.

The bench fixed May 18 for next hearing of the main writ petition filed by advocate Ajoon Khan, father of a deceased APS student Asfand Khan, as well as the joint application filed by these mothers.

The applicants have said since they were also the affected by the case, they should be made party to the petition.

The applicants said several applications had been submitted to the high-ups of different institutions but parents of the deceased children were not satisfied with the case proceedings, actions taken, inquiry held, and their results.

Mothers of schoolchildren request to become part of petition on the matter

Social activist Rakhshanda Naz, who appeared for the applicants, said the instant application was filed in solidarity with the main petitioner.

The chief justice observed that the entire country had stood in solidarity with the victims of the APS carnage, which had unified the nation. He observed that the court respected the feelings of the affected parents.

Additional advocate general Umar Farooq Adam contended that they had no objection to the said application.

The bench directed the AAG and deputy attorneys general, Manzoor Khalil and Mussaratullah Khan, that it would be appropriate that the federal and provincial governments should file replies to the application.

The AAG said during the last hearing on Apr 20, the court had ordered the attachment of salaries of the provincial home secretary and provincial police chief as they had not filed comments in the case.

He said the two officials had submitted comments to be placed on file and therefore, the bench might order the release of their salaries.

The bench observed that the said comments had so far not been available with the court’s file and therefore, the order regarding the salary of the officials would be made after the comments were available on file.

It also directed the deputy attorneys that during the previous hearing, the court had expressed dissatisfaction with a reply filed by the interior secretary and the National Counter-Terrorism Authority in the case and had directed to submit detailed reply. However, the court observed that the said reply had yet not been filed.

The deputy attorneys stated that they would try to file the reply before next date.

The petitioner Ajoon Khan stated that after the circulation of the information on Aug 28, 2014, about the possible APS terrorist attack, it was the fundamental right of the students and their parents to know about it and the non-communication of that information amounted to the violation of fundamental rights of the parents, including him.

He stated that the relevant institutions had been using delaying tactics and not furnishing the required records in time.

The chief justice observed that it was a case of national importance and the court would decide it on merit.

In his petition, Ajoon Khan had said that on Aug 28, 2014, the National Counter Terrorism Authority had informed the provincial government and additional chief secretary of Fata that the commander of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan in collaboration with other terrorists had planned attacks on the APS and other army-run educational institutions.

The petitioner said necessary action to counter the threat was not taken by the administration.

Published in Dawn, May 4th, 2016