What was the Peshawar school massacre?

Described as the “massacre of the innocents”, the devastating Taliban attack left at least 141 people dead, including 132 children and nine members of mainly female staff at their Peshawar Army Public School in the north-west of Pakistan.

Seven terrorists burst in and opened fire, killing many of the young victims at point-blank range and detonating bombs around the school.

The world reacted with horror to the deaths of so many children, who ranged in age from eight to 18, with some labelling it “Pakistan’s 9/11 moment” and a call to wake up to the clear and present danger posed by the Taliban.

Who was responsible?

The hardline Islamist gunmen who carried out the attack were all foreign nationals, including a Chechen, three Arabs and two Afghans.

Affiliated with the Tehrik and Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militant movement, all six were killed by the Pakistan Army’s Special Services Group (SSG), who rescued a total of 960 people in an eight-hour operation.

At the time of the attack, the Taliban had been weakened through Pakistani military operations in the region and it was believed the slaughter was carried out in response to the crackdown.

Peshawar attack: Pakistani school reopens after Taliban massacre Show all 10 1 /10 Peshawar attack: Pakistani school reopens after Taliban massacre Peshawar attack: Pakistani school reopens after Taliban massacre Peshawar attack Pakistani students of a government-run girls school pray for the victims of Taliban attack on the Army Public School, as schools opened in Peshawar Peshawar attack: Pakistani school reopens after Taliban massacre Peshawar attack Pakistani school children leave the Army Public School after it was reopened following an attack by Taliban militants, in Peshawar Peshawar attack: Pakistani school reopens after Taliban massacre Peshawar attack A Pakistani security staff member searches the bags of students entering a government school after schools in the city reopened following a Taliban attack in Peshawar Peshawar attack: Pakistani school reopens after Taliban massacre Peshawar attack Girls carry their school bags as they walk along a road while heading to their school after it reopened Peshawar attack: Pakistani school reopens after Taliban massacre Peshawar attack A Pakistani mother drops her children at the Army Public School in Peshawar Peshawar attack: Pakistani school reopens after Taliban massacre Peshawar attack A Pakistani soldier stands guard on a street as children walk to school in Peshawar Peshawar attack: Pakistani school reopens after Taliban massacre Peshawar attack Schoolchildren react inside a decorated van as they head to their school after it reopened in Peshawar Peshawar attack: Pakistani school reopens after Taliban massacre Peshawar attack Pakistani parents gather at the Army Public School with their children after it was reopened following an attack there by Taliban militants Peshawar attack: Pakistani school reopens after Taliban massacre Peshawar attack A Pakistani mother cries as she leaves the Army Public School with her children after it was reopened following an attack there by Taliban militants Peshawar attack: Pakistani school reopens after Taliban massacre Peshawar attack Schoolchildren walk past a traffic policeman as they cross the road while heading school, after it reopened in Peshawar

How did Pakistan respond to the atrocity?

The then-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and leaders of various political and religious parties were united in their strong condemnation of the abhorrent attack and vowed to do more to wipe out terrorism.

For days following the massacre, Pakistanis in major cities held candlelit vigils, with the initial grief giving way to anger as they took to the streets to demand action against pro-Taliban preachers.

The government restored the death penalty, hanging four militants involved in the Peshawar massacre in 2015, and placing hundreds of prisoners on death row.

Extra security measures were ordered around schools following the slaughter

The man believed to have masterminded the attack, Omar Khorasani, was killed in a drone strike in eastern Afghanistan in October 2017.

Who are the TTP?

The Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan is a loose association of various militant groups who oppose the Pakistani state and want to implement Sharia law. Most of the Taliban militants are believed to have their origins in groups sponsored, aided and abetted in some way by the state.

Following the Peshawar atrocity, the Prime Minister recognised the country had appeared ambivalent towards the extremists, and vowed to end the distinction between “good” and “bad” Taliban.

Mr Sharif said of the new approach: “All Taliban are bad Taliban. Extremism of any kind – of thought, action, religious or political extremism – is bad. We have to eliminate them wherever we find them.”

He also vowed to “regulate” madrassa – the teaching of Islam – admitting that unregulated education could be “very dangerous”.

The Taliban has controlled areas in the north-west of Pakistan for recent years, as well as proving a major force in Afghanistan.

In pictures: Aftermath of Taliban massacre in Peshawar Show all 12 1 /12 In pictures: Aftermath of Taliban massacre in Peshawar In pictures: Aftermath of Taliban massacre in Peshawar Army Public School A Pakistani soldier shows the media a burnt classroom at an army-run school a day after an attack by Taliban militants in Peshawar In pictures: Aftermath of Taliban massacre in Peshawar Army Public School A journalist reacts as he visits the Army Public School that was attacked by the Taliban militants in Peshawar In pictures: Aftermath of Taliban massacre in Peshawar Army Public School Pakistani security officials inspect the premises of Army Public School after the attack by the Taliban militants in Peshawar In pictures: Aftermath of Taliban massacre in Peshawar Army Public School Journalists inspect the premises of Army Public School In pictures: Aftermath of Taliban massacre in Peshawar Army Public School A view of a class room of Army Public School In pictures: Aftermath of Taliban massacre in Peshawar Army Public School A view of the blood stained auditorium of Army Public School that was attacked by the Taliban militants in Peshawar In pictures: Aftermath of Taliban massacre in Peshawar Army Public School Pakistani video journalists film inside the auditorium of an Army Public School a day after an attack by the Taliban, in Peshawar, Pakistan AP In pictures: Aftermath of Taliban massacre in Peshawar Army Public School Chairs are upturned and blood stains the floor at the Army Public School auditorium the day after Taliban gunmen stormed the school in Peshawar AP In pictures: Aftermath of Taliban massacre in Peshawar Army Public School A pair of glesses lays on the floor of the blood stained auditorium In pictures: Aftermath of Taliban massacre in Peshawar Army Public School Pakistan army soldiers stand outside the auditorium of an Army Public School a day after an attack on the school, in Peshawar AP In pictures: Aftermath of Taliban massacre in Peshawar Army Public School Pakistani journalists film and photograph inside an auditorium of the Army Public School attacked the day before by Taliban gunmen AP In pictures: Aftermath of Taliban massacre in Peshawar Army Public School A broken window of a class room of Army Public School

Three years on, has anything changed in Pakistan?

Despite the promises in the wake of the massacre, little appears to have been done to drive out the Taliban.

The National Counter-Terrorism Authority was formed eight years ago, but the Pakistani government is accused of failing to properly fund and develop the organisation.

Militant attacks are down in number compared to three years ago, but the minority Shias continue to be targeted by extremist groups.