India Mourns Victims of Deadly School Attack in Pakistan

MOSCOW, December 17 (Sputnik) – Following an appeal by India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the country is mourning the deaths of 132 children and nine adults, killed by Taliban militants during Tuesday’s attack on the Army Public School in the Pakistani region of Peshawar.

"In the wake of dastardly attack in Pakistan, I appeal to schools across India to observe 2 mins of silence tomorrow as a mark of solidarity," Modi tweeted.

Schoolchildren in the Indian city of Baroda held a two-minute silence in a show of solidarity against terrorism. "We are protesting against the Taliban attack in Peshawar where schoolchildren lost their lives. We are very saddened because we are also students and we share their pain and grief," Rahul Sharma, a student, said, as quoted by BBC.

People in the city of Haridwar, India, held a candlelight vigil.

"We are with the family members of the victims who lost their lives in the bloodshed. I cannot express in words how to share their grief," said Ramakant Desai, one of the protesters, as quoted by BBC, calling the attack "ruthless and inhuman."

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif condolences in a phone conversation. "India stands firmly with Pakistan in fight against terror," Modi tweeted, adding that the country will provide any assistance needed. He referred to the school massacre as "a senseless act of unspeakable brutality."

"Even before the reverberations from the terrorist attack in Sydney to our East ended, one of the most horrific killings in recent times were perpetrated on our west, in Peshawar. The enormity of this crime; the cowardly nature of the massacre; the barbaric brutality of the killing of 132 innocent school children and 9 others, yesterday, has evoked revulsion all around," Sushma Swaraj, India’s External Affairs Minister said in a statement, condemning terrorist attacks in Pakistan and Australia.

On Tuesday, six militants from the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) carried out an attack on the Peshawar school, killing 132 children and nine members of the staff. Over 100 children and staff are also said to be injured, many suffering gunshot wounds, CNN noted. The Taliban has said that the attack was a response to Pakistani army operations in North Waziristan and the Khyber area.

A three-day mourning has begun in Pakistan. Some of the victims of the attack, condemned worldwide, were buried late Tuesday. The rest are expected to be laid to rest on Wednesday, according to AFP.