PESHAWAR - At least eight persons, including six school teachers, were gunned down by unknown assailants, in two targeted attacks in Parachinar and Upper Kurram areas of the merged tribal district Kurram, on Thursday.
Both the incidents occurred in the Parachinar area near the border with Afghanistan, they said. The area is off limits to journalists and human rights activists, which makes it difficult to verify facts independently. The attackers are said to be still at large.
According to local police, in the first incident a school teacher Muhammad Sharif was killed, while in the second violent incident five school teachers and two labourers were targeted in a school in Kurram tribal district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Imran Mirza, the district police officer of the Kurram tribal region, told the media the Shia and Sunni tribes have a long-standing property conflict that has resulted in dozens of clashes between them.
“On Thursday morning, unidentified assailants murdered a teacher of the Sunni tribe. In retaliation, armed men then entered a Government High School, Teri Mangal, and murdered six people: four teachers and their two assistants,” he said.
The act sparked tension in Parachinar, which has remained a sectarianism-prone area.
The police informed that some unidentified assailants targeted a school teacher Muhammad Sharif when he was travelling in a car on Shalozan Road. Meanwhile, in another incident five teachers and two labourers were gunned down in a staff-room of the Tarimangal High School, located in the Upper Kurram tehsil, police added.
They deceased were identified as Mir Hussain, Jawad Hussain, Naveed Hussain, Jawad Ali, and Ali Hussain, while the names of two other persons were yet not confirmed,
It was also learnt that targeted persons belonged to Turi-Mangal tribe of Kurram tribal district.
According to the police, all the educators were staying in a school building to perform their examinations duties.
Contradictory accounts were given by regional authorities about the motive for the killings.
A statement from the provincial chief minister’s office said it involved a property dispute, but the regional commissioner said sectarian antagonism appeared to be the cause.
The local police said they were gathering more information as they investigated the incidents.
Following the incident, the district authorities have imposed an emergency in all the government-run hospitals in the area, and also put security on high alert in the district.
Soon after the incident, the security forces personnel reached the spot and cordoned off the surrounding areas. The administration also closed all main transport routes across the district due to security concerns.
DPO Imran told the media that measures were being taken and negotiations being carried out with tribal leaders to bring the situation back to normalcy after the attacks.
He said the Kohat division deputy inspector general of police and commissioner had reached Parachinar after the incidents, adding that security had been beefed up and routes blocked in the areas.
The official said a probe into the incidents was under way.
As per the information shared by the Education Board, the matric exams are being organized by the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education Kohat in Kurram and the remaining papers have been postponed after the incident.
President Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif have strongly condemned the incident and expressed grief over the loss of lives in the deadly shooting.
In a statement, the PM condoled with the bereaved families and prayed to Almighty Allah for raising of ranks of the deceased in heaven. He also prayed for the early recovery of the injured and ordered provision of all possible medical assistance to the wounded.
The prime minister sought a report of the incident from the officials concerned.
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.
Federal Minister for Overseas Pakistani and Human Resource Development, Sajid Hussain Turi, who belongs to Parachinar area and elected from the district Kurram, strongly condemned the target killing of school teachers. He also said that strict legal action will be taken against the elements involved in this gruesome incident, and assured on part of the government that justice would be provided to the bereaved families.
This tribal belt was the birthplace of the TTP, the umbrella of terrorist groups responsible for most militant violence in the country. Proximity with the tribal regions also rendered K-P vulnerable to TTP attacks. Four days ago, tens of thousands of people took to the streets to protest against the ever-deteriorating law and order situation in Lakki Marwat district of K-P.
A large number of local residents including political workers of all parties, civil society, lawyers and students participated in the protest.