Australians awoke on Wednesday, just a day after the end of the more than 16-hour horrifying siege in Sydney's CBD, to news at least 140 students and teachers killed in a shooting at the Army Public School and Degree College in Peshawar.

Mr Salim has been in Dubbo for 10 months and when he was in Pakistan he and his family lived not far from the Army School, he attended Edwardes College Peshawar and still has family who live in the area.

Two years ago Mr Salim walked to his local marketplace, forgot something so had to go back for it and missed a suicide bomb attack by about two minutes.

He said even in Australia the news of the shooting was a nightmare.

"I've seen this in real life- I've lived it," Mr Salim said.

"After the bombing my father gave me permission to go anywhere in the world, but just to get out of Pakistan."

Mr Salim said he spoke to his family last night and news of the school shooting has shaken them.

"My nine-year-old brother said to me 'I'm never going to school again' because he had seen what had happened," he said.

"I told him that it happened very far away from them, but it wasn't.

"His future is ruined from this."

Mr Naeem's family is currently visiting Pakistan and although they are staying in a safer area, about 1,500 kilometres away from Peshawar he said he still has great concern for them.

He moved to Dubbo two years ago and said the situation continues to worsen.

Neither man believe terrorist attacks in Pakistan will subside and cannot understand how someone could do something so horrific.

"These were kids- the people that did this are worse than animals," Mr Salim said.

"Those people don't have any place in Islam."

"They're are using the name of Islam, but this is not respected in any religion," Mr Naeem said.

"If one person kills in Islam, it is believed they kill all of humanity and if they save one person they save humanity," Mr Salim said.