World outraged at massacre of children in Pakistan
December 17, 2014, 5:55 am

Mourners attend the prayer service for a student killed during a Taliban massacre of children at a Pakistani school Tuesday [Xinhua]

The attackers belong to the Tehrik-i-Taliban (TTP) faction, formed as recently as 2007 as the Pakistan Taliban.

In France, Britain, the US, Germany, the UN and Afghanistan, to name a few, the outrage has been palpable with many calling the attack an “unspeakable atrocity”, “vile crime”, and a “heinous” brutality.

A spokesperson for the Afghanistan Taliban, which at times is allied with the TTP, branded the attack as “unIslamic”.

“The intentional killing of innocent people, children and women are against the basics of Islam and this criteria has to be considered by every Islamic party and government,” Afghanistan Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State John Kerry said that the children killed in Pakistan were “the world’s children … and their loss is the world’s loss”.

Albania, Algeria and Turkey were among a host of countries to condemn the attack.

“We express our indignation at this heinous and barbaric crime, which cannot be justified under any circumstances. The horror endured by these innocent victims reflects the blind and inhuman assailants and their sponsors,” a statement from the Algerian Foreign Ministry said.

“It’s horrifying that children are being killed simply for going to school,” said British Prime Minister David Cameron.

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif reiterated on Wednesday that the government and Pakistani military would stay the course until terrorism had been rooted out of the country.

There are reports that the Pakistani military has already intensified a retaliatory operation in the country’s North Waziristan region.

Source: Agencies