Representational image. Gunmen opened fire on a school van in Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province on Thursday, August 22. Photo credit: AFP
Two children were killed and six others injured when gunmen opened fire on a school van in Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province on Thursday (August 22, 2024), police and officials said.
Officials said the driver, who was among the injured, was the target of the attack. Local police official Mohammad Shakeel said, “Our initial investigation suggests that the driver had enmity with someone.” He did not give any further details.
Police are still investigating to find out who was behind the shooting, and no one has yet claimed responsibility.
District Police Chief of Attock, Ghiyas Gul, said the dead and injured were rushed to a nearby hospital where the firing took place.
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and Home Minister Mohsin Naqvi condemned the attack and ordered the best possible medical treatment to be provided to the injured.
Attock is a district in Punjab province, but it is not far from Pakistan’s troubled northwest.
Terrorist attacks have surged in Pakistan in recent years, mostly in the northwest bordering Afghanistan. In 2014, Pakistani militants carried out the worst attack on an army-run school in the northwestern city of Peshawar, killing 147 people, including 132 children.