ATTOCK, Aug 22 (NNI): Two young girl students were killed and five others wounded in a gun attack on a school van in Attock on Thursday morning.
In the tragic incident, unidentified gunmen sprayed the school van with bullets in the Dheri Kot area of Attock.
Due to indiscriminate firing from the shooters, two girl students died on the spot, while five children and the driver of the school van, who was the target of the attack, were badly injured. The attackers fled the scene after the shooting.
Rescue teams rushed to the spot and shifted the bodies and the injured children and the van driver to the District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital Attock.
The deceased girls were identified as 10-year-old Urwa and nine-year-old Rameen. The injured children were aged between four and 12 years and were named as eight-year-old Mohib Ali, seven-year-old Sameera, eight-year-old Shazif, 12-year-old Haseeb and four-year-old Shazim.
Meanwhile, the local police also reached the crime scene and shifted the dead bodies of the children to the hospital after collecting evidence.
According to the police, the firing incident was the result of 48-year-old driver Afzal’s old enmity. Police said said the gunmen, who fled the scene, were embroiled in court cases with the family of the driver, who was also hurt in the shooting.
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz took notice of the incident and directed the officials to ensure best treatment facilities to the injured students.
While strongly condemning the incident, the chief minister sought a report from the Rawalpindi commissioner into the gruesome attack.
DPO Attock Dr Ghayas Gul ordered the police to immediately arrest the two accused identified as Nasir and Naeem.
The police have constituted a number of teams to arrest the culprits.
President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari strongly condemned the incident of firing on the school van in Attock.
“Targeting a school van is very cruel and shameful act. The perpetrators of the attack should be taken to the task,” they said.
They also prayed to Allah Almighty for peace for the departed souls and early recovery of the injured.
They said such kind of attack on children is quite cruel and gruesome act, expressing expressed solidarity with the bereaved families and prayed for the departed souls.
They directed the authorities concerned to take stern action against the responsible and provide best treatment facilities to the inured children. NNI
