The city of Peshawar, Pakistan is in mourning as 132 children and nine staff are being buried, following a Tabliban attack on a school.
Gunmen had walked from class to class shooting students in what has been described as the Pakistani Taliban’s worst attack in history.
Flags are flying at half-mast across Pakistan as the Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif has declared three days of mourning over the massacre, which has sparked national outrage.
Sharif has also called a multi-party conference in Peshawar on Wednesday to discuss the state’s response to the attack, the worst in Pakistan’s recent history, which will be attended by leaders across the political spectrum.
He also announced an end to the moratorium on the death penalty for terrorism cases.
In its defense, the Pakistani Taliban, which had claimed responsibility for the attack, issued a statement saying only the adult sons of military personnel and members of the military had been killed in the raid, noting that the raid was a revenge on children who been killed during military operations in tribal areas.
According to the army, Tuesday’s attack was carried out by seven Taliban attackers, all wearing bomb vests.
They cut through a wire fence to enter the school from the rear and attacked an auditorium where children were taking exams.
Most of the younger pupils escaped, as the older students were deliberately targeted in the attack.