Driver killed as school van attacked in Swat

MINGORA: A driver was killed and a student injured when an unidentified person opened fire on a school van in the Gulibagh area of the Swat district here on Monday, police said.

According to Ali Bach, Station House Officer (SHO) of the Charbagh Police Station, an unknown person opened fire on the van which was carrying children to a private school. He said the driver identified as Hussain Ahmad, son of, Inayatur Rahman, aged 32, was killed and a student, 11, was left injured in the attack.

“There were 11 kids aboard the van. However, others escaped unhurt. We have launched a search operation in the area and hope to arrest the culprit soon” the SHO said while talking to reporters.

“The injured child was brought to this hospital where he was operated upon and is stable now “, Muhammad Khan, Deputy Medical Superintendent of Saidu Teaching Hospital, told reporters.

He added that the slain driver of the school van had suffered three bullet wounds. Soon after the incident, students and teachers from private schools staged a protest at the Nishat Chowk. They chanted slogans against the federal, and provincial governments.

“We want peace, security and education. The state is responsible for ensuring this. The state must provide security to us and our children. We will continue the protest until the culprits are arrested”, said Sawab Khan, the president of the Private School Management Association.

He announced that all private schools in the district would remain closed on Tuesday (today) as a mark of protest and to express solidarity with the victims. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), meanwhile, condemned the terrorist attack on the school bus.

In a statement, the HRCP said Swat’s residents were right to hold the law enforcement agencies responsible for failing to enforce the writ of the state. “It was callous and short-sighted to have downplayed the threat from militants, given residents’ growing protests and calls for security. While the perpetrators must be brought to book promptly, the state must also stop ceding space to extremists - a lesson it has consistently failed to learn at the expense of its people,” it added.