Corps commanders resolve to bring perpetrators of Peshawar attack to ‘exemplary justice’

Army’s top brass on Tuesday paid rich tributes to martyrs of the Peshawar blast and vowed that “perpetrators will be brought to exemplary justice,” the military’s media wing said.

The resolve was reiterated at the 255th Corps Commanders’ Conference which was chaired by Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir, an Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) news release said.

COAS emphasised that “such immoral and cowardly acts cannot shake the resolve of the nation but rather reinvigorate our determination to succeed in the ongoing war against terror with Zero tolerance for any terrorist entity.”

The COAS directed all commanders to continue to focus on anti-terrorism operations in coordination with intelligence and law enforcement agencies with renewed resolve till the time we achieve sustainable peace.

The participants were briefed in detail about prevailing and emerging threats, the situation in IIOJK, and ongoing intelligence-based operations being undertaken by Army and LEAs for breaking the nexus between terrorists and their support mechanism across the country.

The forum, taking notice of human rights violations and Indian design to alter the demographics of IIOJK, reaffirmed the army’s commitment to Pakistan’s principal support to the indigenous freedom struggle of brave Kashmiri people as per relevant UN resolutions and aspirations of the people of the Kashmir.

The death toll in the suicide bombing in Peshawar rose to 100 while at least dozens were injured, several of them in critical condition, a hospital spokesperson said on Tuesday.

On Monday, a suicide bomber blew himself up inside a crowded mosque next to the Police Lines in Peshawar, in a highly fortified security compound, the latest in a string of attacks targeting police.

The last major incident of such a nature took place in Peshawar last year when a suicide blast inside a Shia mosque in the Kocha Risaldar area claimed 63 lives.