A Pakistani man comforts a student standing at the bedside of a boy who was injured in a Taliban attack. Photo / AP
A Taliban attack on a school in Pakistan has been widely condemned as un-Muslim, abhorrent, inhumane and disgusting.
Nine school staff and 132 children were killed in the attack, with pupils forced to watch one teacher burned alive in front of them.
There have been reports some of the dead were beheaded, while others were shot and at least one suicide bomber detonated their explosives in a packed classroom.
A plainclothes security officer escorts students rescued from nearby school during a Taliban attack in Peshawar. Photo / AP
The attack - by seven Taliban militiamen - took place at a military school in the northwestern city of Peshawar yesterday. It was the deadliest terrorist attack in the nation's history.
In the wake of the atrocity, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif announced the end of the moratorium on the death penalty in terrorism cases.
Witnesses described how a huge blast shook the school and gunmen went from classroom to classroom shooting children.
The siege lasted for hours, culminating in the Pakistan Army taking control and killing the insurgents.
In addition to the pupils and school staff killed, three soldiers also died, military spokesman General Asim Bajwa told CNN.
Pakistani parents escort their children outside a school attacked by the Taliban. Photo / AP
More than 100 people were injured, many with gunshot wounds.
Nawaz Sharif said it was a "national tragedy unleashed by savages".
"These were my children. This is my loss. This is the nation's loss."
In New Zealand, the reaction to the massacre was unanimous.
Labour MP Phil Goff took to Twitter to voice his revulsion at the events.
"Murder of Pakistan school children abhorrent and disgusting," he wrote yesterday. "How can killers be so lacking in humanity? This is beyond contempt."
A screengrab from television shows an injured boy being comforted. Photo / AFP
Prime Minister John Key, speaking from Dunedin, said he was "horrified".
"Children go to school to be safe and to be educated, and what's taken place there is of proportions that none of us could comprehend.
"We utterly condemn the actions that have taken place."
The Pakistan Association of New Zealand similarly slammed the attack.
Association president Athar Awan said the terrorists were animals.
"They have nothing to do with Islam or humanity, because this is inhumane.
An injured boy looks up from his hospital bed. Photo / AFP
"How are they claiming that they are Muslim and that they are fighting for Islam? They are not Muslim ... they are animals."
Advice on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade-administered SafeTravel website strongly advises Kiwis against travelling to Pakistan.
"There is extreme risk to your security in the federally administered tribal areas, Baluchistan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the Northwest Frontier Province), and border areas with Afghanistan and India.
"We advise against all travel to these areas due to the significant threat from terrorism, risk of kidnapping and the unpredictable security situation. Any New Zealanders currently in these areas are advised to depart."
145 people were massacred in the attack, including 132 children, 10 school staff and three Pakistani soldiers
1 teacher was burned to death while children were forced to watch
1 suicide bomber detonated his bomb in a room full with 60 children
7 Taliban gunmen involved in the attack were killed.
- additional reporting: Otago Daily Times
The incident was reported about 7.30pm.