The Supreme Court (SC) has assured the parents of the children who were martyred in the Army Public School (APS) Peshawar carnage that justice will be served and has directed the government to submit its reply in four weeks.

About 150 people, including 138 APS students, were shot dead on December 16, 2014 by terrorists after they stormed into the school. A two-member bench, comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Gulzar Ahmed and Justice Ijazul Ahsan took up the suo motu case today.

During the hearing, the parents of the martyred children requested the SC to increase the pace of investigations. They also requested the bench to make the inquiry report of the attack public, local media reported.

The CJP expressed sympathy with the parents and said that the court will not leave those who are responsible for the APS tragedy. The SC has also directed the attorney general to ask the government for instructions and brief the SC.

The court has directed the government to submit its reply regarding the report in four weeks. The hearing has been adjourned for four weeks.

'APS carnage will never be forgotten': COAS salutes martyrs, their families

In July, the judicial commission formed to investigate the attack had submitted a 3,000-page inquiry report in the court. The report was prepared by Justice Muhammad Ibrahim Khan of the Peshawar High Court.

It consists of statements of 101 witnesses and 31 police and other officials of law enforcement agencies.