—– Eight including five teachers martyred in Upper Kurram shootings
—– All matriculation exams postponed until further notice
—– President, PM, Zardari, others demand justice
—– Six soldiers embrace martyrdom, three terrorists killed in North Waziristan gunfight
PESHAWAR: Fourteen people including six Pakistan Army Soldiers and five school teachers were martyred by terrorists in two separate attacks in North Waziristan and Kurram districts respectively.
According to details, at least eight people, including five teachers, were martyred in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Upper Kurram Tehsil, the district admin-istration said Thursday, in the latest incident of violence in the northwestern province.
Local police said that in the first incident in Parachinar, which falls in Upper Kurram and is the capital of Kurram district, a teacher was killed whilst in a moving vehicle.
Separately, unidentified gunmen shot seven people, including four teachers, in the staffroom of Government High School Tari Mangal. All the edu-cators were at the building for performing their exam duties.
The district administration said the three others killed were drivers who brought construction materials to the school. Following the shootings, the authorities have imposed emergency in all hospitals in the area.
The teacher, named Mohammad Sharif, who was killed inside the car also belonged to the same school, said the police. The teacher was shot while he was travelling on Shalozan Road.
The bodies of those killed were sent to their ancestral villages for burial, the administration added.
Following the incidents, the ongoing matriculation exams — which kicked off on April 28 and are being held under the supervision of Board of In-termediate and Secondary Education (BISE) Kohat — were postponed till further notice. All educational institutions were also closed till further notice.
The police are searching for the killers, but have not been able to track them down so far. Meanwhile, citizens of the area held a protest over the kill-ings in front of the local press club.
School shootings are rare in Pakistan. Over 140 people, mostly students, were killed in a gun-and-bomb attack at an army school in Peshawar in December 2016.
President Dr Arif Alvi said that the attack on the teachers by those who are the enemies of education is condemnable.
Condemning the attack, the head of state expressed grief over the assassination of on-duty teachers in two incidents.
The president hoped that the suspect would be punished soon as per the law. He also prayed for the elevation of ranks in paradise and sympathised with the bereaved families.
Asif Ali Zardari, former president and Pakistan Peoples Party co-chairman, expressed regret over the killing of the teachers. “Killing of teachers while they are performing their duty is terrorism,” he said in a statement.
“Criminals involved in the killing of teachers should be brought to justice,” Zardari said as he prayed for the forgiveness of the deceased. PM Shehbaz Sharif also extended his condolences with believed families.
Federal Minister for Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development Sajid Hussain Turi demanded strict action against the perpetrators.
Meanwhile, Six soldiers of the Pakistan Army embraced martyrdom and three terrorists were eliminated in a fierce gunfight that broke out in a re-mote part of the mountainous North Waziristan district, the military said on Thursday.
The statement by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media wing read: “A fire exchange took place between terrorists and own troops in general area Dirduni, North Waziristan District.”
It added: “Three terrorists were sent to hell while injuring another two”.
The six brave who — having fought gallantly — before they were martyred include: Havaldar Saleem Khan (age 36 years, resident of District Tank), Naik Javed Iqbal (age 37 years, resident of District Kohat), Sepoy Nazir Khan (age 26 years, resident of District Bannu), Sepoy Hazrat Bilal (age 25 years, resident of District Mardan), Sepoy Syed Rajab Hussain (age 22 years, resident of District Orakzai) and Sepoy Bismillah Jan (age 22 years, resident of District Khyber).
The military wing’s statement further added that a search operation was underway to clear any active threats holed up in the area.
“Sanitisation of the area is being carried out to eliminate any terrorists found in the area.”
Moreover, the statement concluded with a resolve to ensure that terrorism was eliminated from the country.
“Security Forces of Pakistan are determined to eliminate the menace of terrorism and such sacrifices of our brave soldiers further strengthen our re-solve,” the ISPR statement added.
Last week, three soldiers of the Pakistan Army were martyred during three separate encounters with terrorists in different parts of Lakki Marwat dis-trict of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), according to the military’s media wing.
An ISPR statement stated that on the night of 27-28 April, security forces while fighting gallantly repulsed three attacks by terrorists on different lo-cations within a short span of time in Lakki Marwat district. A motorcycle-borne suicide bomber exploded himself near security forces post in the dis-trict followed by a fierce fire exchange between the troops and terrorists, it added.
The two other encounters occurred in the Amir Kalam and Tajbi Khel areas of the district, in which three more terrorists, including terrorist com-mander Musa Khan, were eliminated. Weapons and ammunition were also recovered from the seven killed terrorists, according to the ISPR.
–Agencies
