The attack on a military school in Peshawar, claimed by the Pakistani Taliban as a response to an army offensive in the Khyber area and North Waziristan regions, is the deadliest in Pakistan’s recent memory.

Its toll surpasses the September 2013 massacre in the same city at All Saints Anglican Church by two suicide bombers, which remains the worst attack against Pakistan’s Christians. Ninety six were killed, including six from one family. There were 150 other casualties.

The 2013 church massacre, claimed by Taliban-related groups in retaliation for US drone strikes, triggered a call for better security for minority groups.

Last year’s vulnerability of Christians in the lead up to Christmas will be heightened again this year after this latest shock.

In response to 16th December attack, the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, vowed to end terrorism. “We… have resolved to continue the war against terrorism till the last terrorist is eliminated,” he said.

Source: BBC