Peshawar school attack warning was given in August

Government departments in Pakistan's Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province were warned of an imminent attack on the Army Public School months before the carnage unfolded in Peshawaron Dec 16.

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa home ministry stated that the Taliban commander Khaksar in Orakazi, a part of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), along with two other terrorists, Bilal and Obaidullah, planned to carry out attacks at educational institutions under the army, Geo News reported citing alert number 802 of the written warning issued Aug 28.

Bilal and Obaidullah with their accomplices had also conducted reconnaissance of the targets. The warning stated that the intention of terrorists was revenge and they wanted to kill as many children of army officers as possible.

The written warning had called for security measures to be made in advance to avoid any untoward incident and copies were circulated to the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa chief minister, the home minister and law enforcement agencies.

On Dec 16, terrorists carried out one of the most barbaric attacks in the history of Pakistan. Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) terrorists brutally killed more than 140 students and teachers at the Army Public School in Peshawar.

Following the attack, the government and political parties expressed a renewed resolve to fight terrorism in the country. The prime minister also lifted the moratorium on the death penalty in terrorism cases.