Two Students Killed, Five Injured In School Van Attack In Punjab, Pakistan

A school van came under attack in Pakistan’s Punjab province early Thursday morning, resulting in the deaths of two students and injuries to five others, according to police reports.

The incident occurred in the Attock district when a gunman opened fire on the van and then fled the scene, District Police Officer Ghayas Gul confirmed. Preliminary investigations suggest that the attack was motivated by personal enmity with the van’s driver, who was unharmed.

The injured students have been transported to a nearby hospital for treatment.

In response to the attack, President Asif Ali Zardari condemned the violence, calling it a “cruel and shameful act.” He urged authorities to take strict action against those responsible and extended his condolences to the families of the deceased while praying for the recovery of the injured.

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Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif described the attack as “quite a cruel and gruesome act” and expressed solidarity with the affected families. He instructed officials to ensure that the injured receive the best possible medical care and to pursue the perpetrators vigorously.

 Mohsin Naqvi’s Sympathy

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi also expressed his sympathy, condemning the attack as a monstrous act. He emphasized that those targeting innocent children do not deserve any leniency and asserted that such acts of barbarism are intolerable.

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has requested a detailed report on the incident from Inspector General of Police Usman Anwar. She expressed profound grief over the deaths and directed that the injured students receive top-notch medical care.

National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq joined in the condemnation, calling for the “strictest possible action” against those responsible for the attack.

While gun violence targeting children is rare in Pakistan, this incident follows a troubling pattern of similar attacks. Last year, a student was killed, and six others were injured in a shooting involving a police officer outside a school in Swat. In October 2022, armed men targeted a school van in Swat’s Char Bagh area, killing the driver and injuring a child. The most notorious incident remains the 2014 attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar, where 147 students and staff were killed by Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan militants.

Moreover, in 2012, the school bus of education activist and Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai was attacked by the TTP, resulting in injuries to Yousafzai and other children on board.