BATTAGRAM: A school van came under fire in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Battagram district when an unknown assailant opened fire on Tuesday, according to police.
The incident happened when the van was coming from the Pirwahari area, leaving five students and the driver injured, said the Battagram police spokesperson, Gul Nabi.
All the injured were shifted to the District hospital Battagram, while the critically injured were referred to Ayub Medical Complex Abbotabad.
“Police have lodged the first information report [FIR] and efforts to arrest the suspect were underway,” Nabi added.
“Act of terrorism,” said the president of the Private Education Network (PEN) Battagram chapter, Syed Raqib Shah while condemning the incident.
Shah urged the Battagram district police officer (DPO) to register a case under the Anti-Terrorism Act and apprehend the assailant, warning that failure to do so would prompt a strong reaction from the community.
Kuzabanda Station House Officer (SHO) Amjid Khan said that the motive behind this incident was personal reasoning against the van driver. “The shooter opened fire, recklessly endangering the lives of the children onboard,” he said.
