Suspect in Peshawar school attack held

Alleged terrorist involved in the attack on Army Public School attack in Peshawar was deported from Italy, officials here said on Thursday.

According to sources, suspect Usman Ghani, who belongs to a banned outfit, was brought to Islamabad with the help of Interpol. “He has been shifted to undisclosed location for interrogation,” said an official.

“Information regarding the terrorist was provided to Interpol by the intelligence agencies,” he added.

In the deadliest slaughter of innocents in Pakistan in years, Tehrik-e-Taliban gunmen on December 16, 2014 attacked the military-run school and killed 150 people — most of them students — before troops ended the siege.

A little more than 1,000 students and staff were registered at the school, which is part of a network run by the military.

The Army launched the Zarb-e-Azb operation in June 2014 to wipe out militant bases in North Waziristan tribal area to bring an end to the decade-long militancy that has cost Pakistan thousands of lives.

The army intensified its offensive after the Peshawar school attack and since then there has been something of a lull in violence.