Pak: 1 killed, two school kids injured as militants open fire on van

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa [Pakistan], October 11 (ANI): One man was killed and two students were injured on Monday when unidentified attackers, whom the Pakistan officials termed ‘militants’, opened fire on a school van in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
According to Dawn citing Pakistan’s Rescue 1122 officials, when the incident took place, at that time the van was taking students to the school at Gulibagh in Charbagh tehsil.
While the van was moving towards the school, unidentified assailants, riding on a bike, opened fire on them, killing the driver on spot and two students were injured.
According to the officials, students were shifted to the hospital, reported Dawn.
After the incident, hundreds of students and teachers went to the streets and protested against the rising tide of insurgency in the area.
Swat DPO Zahid Nawaz Marwat said the van driver and not the students, was the intended target. Police are investigating the case and the culprit will soon be behind the bars.
So far, no organisation has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Meanwhile, the Private School Management Association (PSMA) held demonstrations at Nishat Chowk in Mingora, Charbagh and Khwazakhela, according to Dawn.
The PSMA office-bearers said that they will not tolerate any terrorist activities either against teachers, students or other staff members of any school in Swat.
They remarked that the law and order situation in Swat has been deteriorating for three months but “the security forces were helpless against a few so-called terrorists.”
“The terrorists are enemies of books, students and teachers. They should remember that the residents of Swat, including teachers and students, will never be subdued or scared,” said another PSMA representative Zafar Shilmani as quoted by Dawn.
“This is the state’s responsibility to ensure security to every citizen and if the state failed, we would fight a war for peace,” said PSMA’s Ahmad Shah, adding that it was not the Swat of 2007 when a planned game was played with the people in the name of Islam and Sharia.
Meanwhile, after the incident, the association decided to keep the schools in the district closed on Tuesday and said that it will participate in the civil society protests to be held at Nishat Chowk today, according to Dawn.
The incident brought back memories of the attack on schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai on October 9, 2012, who survived a gun attack by Taliban gunmen nearly a decade ago. Her father, Ziauddin, took to Twitter to condemn Monday’s incident, calling it “Tragic and alarming”. (ANI)