Pakistan Reinstates Death Penalty After Attack

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The Pakistani Prime Minister has reinstated the death penalty in terrorism cases after Taliban gunmen killed 132 children and nine teachers at a school in Peshawar.

Three days of mourning have begun after the country suffered its deadliest terror attack which saw nine men storm the army-run school while around 500 children and teachers were believed to be inside.

Government spokesman Mohiuddin Wan said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had approved the lifting of a moratorium on death penalties.

He said: "It was decided that this moratorium should be lifted. The prime minister approved.

"Black warrants [execution orders] will be issued within a day or two."

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Gallery: Taliban Gunmen Kill 132 Children In Northern Pakistan City

Militants from the Pakistani Taliban attacked an army-run school in Peshawar

They killed 141 people, 132 of whom were children

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Students told stories of gunmen entering classrooms and firing at random

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The moratorium on civilian executions had been in place since 2008 and only one execution has taken place since then.

It comes after a district government official confirmed a US drone strike in eastern Afghanistan killed 11 militants, including four Pakistan Taliban, on Tuesday.

In a separate incident, a suicide attack and gunfight are reportedly ongoing at a bank branch in Helmand.

Funerals of many of the victims of the Pakistan massacre have already taken place with the rest to follow later.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif described the attack as a "national tragedy unleashed by savages".

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Gallery: Aftermath Of School Massacre

The coffin of a male student killed in the attack is carried to his funeral in Peshawar

A boy walks past the charred remains of a car torched to block access to the school

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"These were my children. This is my loss. This is the nation's loss," he said.

Teenage survivor Shahrukh Khan, who ducked below his desk with classmates when four gunmen burst into their room, described how he played dead after being shot in both legs, stuffing his tie into his mouth to stifle his screams.

"I saw a pair of big black boots coming towards me, this guy was probably hunting for students hiding beneath the benches," the 15-year-old said.

"The man with big boots kept on looking for students and pumping bullets into their bodies. I lay as still as I could and closed my eyes, waiting to get shot again.

"My body was shivering. I saw death so close and I will never forget the black boots approaching me - I felt as though it was death that was approaching me."

Hanging remains a possible sentence in Pakistan and judges continue to pass death sentences.

Pakistan has more than 8,000 prisoners on death row, around 10% of whom have been convicted of offences labelled "terrorism", according to legal aid group Justice Project Pakistan.

Tehreek-e-Taliban insurgents moved from room to room during the eight hour attack on Tuesday in what is believed to have been an act of revenge for a major military offensive in the region.

Chief military spokesman General Asim Bajwa that 125 people had been wounded in the assault.

Gen Bajwa said the attackers, equipped with enough ammunition and food to last for a number of days, only wanted to kill.

"The terrorists started indiscriminate firing as they entered the auditorium so they had no intention of taking any hostages," he said.

The Afghan Taliban issued a statement condemning the attack in Peshawar.

A statement from the UN Security Council condemned the "depraved" and "savage terrorist attack" against children and expressed condolences to the victims and their families.

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Malu Rasanya