Pakistan: 2 Killed and 5 Injured as School Van Attacked in Punjab
School van attacked in Punjab province, Aug. 22, 2024. Photo: X/ @NST_Online
August 22, 2024 Hour: 8:43 am
The incident took place at around 7:30 a.m., when the children were heading to school.
On Thursday morning, two students were killed and five others injured when a school van was attacked in Pakistan’s east Punjab province.
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The incident happened in the Attock district of the province where a gunman sprayed bullets at the van and fled the scene, the District Police Officer of Attock, Ghayas Gul said.
An investigation into the incident is underway. Still, according to the initial probe, the attacker targeted the van due to personal enmity with the driver, who remained safe in the attack.
“Unknown gunmen opened fire on a school van, killing two girls sitting next to the driver,” who was wounded along with five other children, said Abid Munir, an officer at the police station in the Pakistani city of Attock. Another police officer said the children were between five and 12 years old.
The incident took place at around 7:30 a.m., when the children were heading to school, said officer Muhammed Atif. The wounded were taken to hospital in the city of Attock for treatment, he added, without giving details of the condition of the victims.
The initial thesis of local authorities is that the attack was due to “enmity” with some people. “Those who attack innocent children do not deserve to be called human beings,” Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said in a statement.
The country’s President Asif Ali Zardari condemned the attack and directed the authorities to take strict action against those responsible.
teleSUR/ JF Source: EFE – Xinhua
