Five students among 6 injured in Battagram school van firing

An assailant opened fire at a school van injuring six people in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Battagram district, police said on Tuesday.

Battagram police spokesperson Gul Nabi told Dawn.com that the school van was coming from the Pirwahari area when it was attacked. “Five students and the van driver were injured in the incident,” he added.

The injured were shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital Battagram, he continued, adding that one person, who was in critical condition, was referred to the Ayub Medical Complex Abbottabad.

“A first information report [FIR] was lodged and efforts to arrest the suspect were underway,” Nabi added.

According to Kuzabanda Station House Officer (SHO) Amjid Khan, the suspect’s motive behind the incident was “personal vendetta” against the van driver. “The shooter opened fire, recklessly endangering the lives of the children onboard,” he said.

The president of the Private Education Network (PEN) Battagram chapter, Syed Raqib Shah, condemned the incident and characterised it as an “act of terrorism”.

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.

Last month, a senior civil judge and a lawyer were killed by unknown motorcyclists in Nowshera district. According to Nowshera DPO Abdur Rasheed, the incident was said to be one of personal enmity.