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This Is What the World Had to Say About the Peshawar School Attack

3 minute read
By Megan Gibson
Updated: | Originally published: ;

World leaders and prominent politicians and diplomats united to condemn the actions of the Taliban who’ve claimed responsibility for the attack on a Peshawar school on Tuesday that left more than 131 people dead, mostly school children. Six Taliban gunmen attacked the school and were eventually killed by Pakistani security forces.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Shari, released a statement saying, “The government together with the army has started [a military operation called] Zarb-e-Azb and it will continue until the terrorism is rooted out from our land. We also have had discussions with Afghanistan that they and we together fight this terrorism, and this fight will continue. No one should have any doubt about it.” Meanwhile, Afghanistan’s president Ashraf Ghani released a statement that said, “The killing of innocent children is contrary to Islam.”

India’s prime minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter to condemn the attack:

And Kailash Satyarthi, the Indian child rights activist who shared this year’s Nobel Peace Prize with Malala Yousafzai, also tweeted:

The U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan, Richard Olson, said in a statement, “The United States strongly condemns senseless and inhumane attacks on innocent students and educators, and stands in solidarity with the people of Pakistan, and all who fight the menace of terrorism. Few have suffered more at the hands of terrorists and extremists than the people of Pakistan.”

Government leaders, prominent figures and celebrities from around the globe also took to social media to condemn the attacks:

See Tragic Photos of the Taliban School Attack

The uncle and cousin of injured student Mohammad Baqair, center, comfort him as he mourns the death of his mother who was a teacher at the school which was attacked by Taliban, in Peshawar, Pakistan, Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2014.
The uncle and cousin of injured student Mohammad Baqair, center, comfort him as he mourns the death of his mother who was a teacher at the school which was attacked by Taliban, in Peshawar, Pakistan on Dec. 16, 2014.Mohammad Sajjad—AP
Taliban Attack School Peshawar Pakistan
Pakistani security forces take positions following a Taliban attack at an Army run school, in Peshawar, on Dec. 16, 2014. Bilawal Arbab—EPA
Taliban Attack School Peshawar Pakistan
A Pakistani girl, who was injured in a Taliban attack in a school, is rushed to a hospital in Peshawar, on Dec. 16, 2014 Mohammad Sajjad—AP
Taliban Attack School Peshawar Pakistan
Pakistani soldiers move bodies of victims who were killed when Taliban gunmen attacked an Army run school, in Peshawar, on Dec. 16, 2014. Arshad Arbab—EPA
Taliban Attack School Peshawar Pakistan
A wounded Pakistani student receives treatment at a hospital following an attack by Taliban gunmen on a school in Peshawar, on Dec. 16, 2014. A. Majeed—AFP/Getty Images
Taliban Attack School Peshawar Pakistan
School children rescued by Pakistani security forces leave following an attack at the Army run school, in Peshawar on Dec. 16, 2014. Bilawal Arbab—EPA
Taliban Attack School Peshawar Pakistan
A Pakistani man comforts a child standing at the bedside of a boy who was injured in a Taliban attack on a school, at a local hospital in Peshawar, Dec. 16, 2014. Mohammad Sajjad—AP
Taliban Attack School Peshawar Pakistan
Pakistani soldiers transport rescued school children from the site of an attack by Taliban gunmen on a school in Peshawar on Dec. 16, 2014. A. Majeed—AFP/Getty Images
Women mourn their relative Mohammed Ali Khan, 15, a student who was killed during an attack by Taliban gunmen on the Army Public School, at his house in Peshawar, Dec. 16, 2014.
Women mourn their relative Mohammed Ali Khan, 15, a student who was killed during an attack by Taliban gunmen on the Army Public School, at his house in Peshawar, Dec. 16, 2014. Zohra Bensemra—Reuters
A policeman stands beside empty coffins at the hospital after an attack by Taliban gunmen on the Army Public School in Peshawar, Dec.16, 2014.
A policeman stands beside empty coffins at the hospital after an attack by Taliban gunmen on the Army Public School in Peshawar, Dec.16, 2014. Zohra Bensemra—Reuters

Malala Yousafzai, the teenager who was shot in the head by the Taliban for championing girls education in 2012, also joined the condemnation of the attack. The 17-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner, released a statement saying:

“I am heartbroken by this senseless and cold-blooded act of terror in Peshawar that is unfolding before us. Innocent children in their school have no place in horror such as this. I condemn these atrocious and cowardly acts and stand united with the government and armed forces of Pakistan whose efforts so far to address this horrific event are commendable. I, along with millions of others around the world, mourn these children, my brothers and sisters – but we will never be defeated.”

Malala now lives in Birmingham, England.

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