SL Govt. offer condolences and support to Pakistan over school attack

Saturday, 20 December 2014 00:15 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The Sri Lankan Government has strongly condemned the attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar on 16 December. Sri Lankan Minister of External Affairs G.L Peiris visited the High Commission of Pakistan to express his sorrow and grief over the incident.

In his discussion with High Commissioner Maj. Gen. (R) Qasim Qureshi, Prof. Pieris said that Sri Lanka, which has suffered immensely under the scourge of terrorism for almost three decades, shared the pain and anguish of the people of Pakistan at this time of unspeakable grief. He expressed the hope that the resilience of the Government and people of Pakistan would strengthen their resolve to eradicate terrorism in the country. He also registered his message in a condolence book.

Justice Minister Rauf Hakeem, Senior Minister for Urban Development A.H.M. Fowzie and Opposition Leader Ranil Wickramasinghe also visited the High Commission of Pakistan, to express their sympathy in the condolence book. The diplomatic community based in Sri Lanka also strongly denounced the killing of innocent children in the terror attack on the school and expressed grief and sorrow to the families of children, school staff members and soldiers who died in the brutal attack.

The ambassadors and high commissioners of several countries visited the High Commission of Pakistan in Sri Lanka to express their condolences and support the efforts of the Pakistani authorities to eradicate terrorism. In a separate development, President Mahinda Rajapaksa phoned Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and expressed his condolences to the families of those killed in the attack. A candlelight vigil will also be held in Colombo to remember all those who lost their lives in the siege.