John Kerry in Pakistan, set to visit Peshawar Army School

The Army Public School in Pakistan’s Peshawar city, victim of a brutal terror attack in December, reopened on Monday amid high emotions.

US secretary of state John Kerry arrived Monday on an unannounced visit to Pakistan and reportedly plans to visit the school.

Defiant children in green uniforms and their families returned to the Army Public School in Peshawar where Army Chief General Raheel Sharif welcomed the students and the sobbing parents. The school held a ceremony to remember the victims of the terrorist attack but classes were not expected to start until later this week.

At least 20 soldiers were seen at the main entry point of the Army Public School, with an airport-style security gate installed at the front. Elevated boundary walls with steel wire fencing have been put in place around Peshawar and in schools throughout the rest of the country. The government has ordered institutions to ensure protection of the school children and audits have been carried out on hundreds of schools since December 16. On December 16, seven heavily armed terrorists entered the Army Public School and went from class to class, killing 141 people.

Meanwhile, Khyber Pukhtunkhaw chief minister Pervez Khattak admitted that his government could not provide security to all schools in the province.

Talking to reporters, Mr Khattak said that the schools already have funds and the parents themselves should also made security arrangements for their children.