Officials say more than 140 people, mostly children, have been killed in a Taliban attack on an army-run school in north-west Pakistan
Pakistan's security forces say their operation has now ended, with all seven attackers killed
Some pupils, who escaped, earlier said the gunmen went from classroom to classroom, shooting children indiscriminately
The Taliban say the assault is in response to army operations in North Waziristan and the Khyber area. All times GMT
Pakistan's MQM party leader Altaf Hussain is the latest politician strongly to denounce the attack. "I call upon the authorities to take all necessary action to bring the perpetrators of the abhorrent attack to justice," he says.
Pakistani officials say the attack is now over, with all of the attackers killed, although security forces are still checking for bombs.
Mohammad Khurasani added: "These are the soldiers who have thrown their bodies in sacks. We were forced to make this decision, so that they should be hurt in their homes. When you are wounded in your own home then you realise. They burnt our homes and we were forced to set their homes on fire."
The Pakistani Taliban have attempted to justify the attack. Taliban spokesman Mohammad Khurasani says it was a response to anti-militant offensives in North Waziristan and the Khyber region. "The children of our tribes are our children. The women of our tribes are our mothers and our sisters. Six hundred people have been killed in just one year, innocent people who were killed, their bodies mangled."
The school in Peshawar was an "easy target for the terrorists", local resident Asfandy Yar tells the BBC Radio 5live. He says the attack was "very prepared".
Image source, ReutersAcross Pakistan, people have been mourning the victims of the Peshawar school attack.
More from President Obama's statement. It says: "Our hearts and prayers go out to the victims, their families and loved ones. By targeting students and teachers in this heinous attack, terrorists have once again shown their depravity."
tweets, external: Police sweep grounds of #ArmyPublicSchool for any possibility of explosives. Clearing operation in aftermath of #PeshawarAttack in progress.
US President Barack Obama in a statement condemns the "horrific" attack and reiterates his support for the efforts of the Pakistani government "to combat terrorism and extremism".
tweets:, external The biggest human tragedy Pakistan may have ever seen. No words can suffice. Even as a mother it haunts me to even try to relate. Allah Rehm
Shaimaa Khalil
BBC News, Peshawar
says it remains unclear whether the army operation is over. She says parents are distraught and want to know whether all the children have been evacuated from the school.
The Express Tribune reports, external that PM Nawaz Sharif has now reached Peshawar and is being briefed on the army's operation.
tweets, external: Pak Foreign Office says nation stands united in condemning heinous crime/remains resolute to eliminate terrorism from its soil
Dr Hamidullah, who works at Peshawar's Lady Reading Hospital, tells the BBC that a number of those being treated have head and chest injuries.
The death toll has now been raised to 135, with 114 people injured - the Health Secretary of Khyber Pakhtunkhaw province, Mustaq Jadoon, tells the APP news agency.
Jill McGivering
BBC News
Children who escaped the attack describe seeing friends shot dead in front of them, and the bodies of children lying in classrooms and corridors, the BBC's Jill McGivering reports. Many say the gunmen chased children down corridors and went from room to room, opening fire at random.
on Facebook, external says: 2,3 funerals in every street of Peshawar. In my street there are 3! Peshawar bleeds, Pakistan cries.
Image source, EPAPakistani schoolgirls pray for the victims of the Peshawar attack during a memorial ceremony in their school Hyderabad.
Image source, APTerrified parents - accompanied by police and the army - have been rushing their children from the area.
According to DawnNews, external, another injured schoolchild has succumbed to his wounds at Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar, raising the death toll to 131.