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Monday, December 23, 2024  
20 Jumada Al-Akhirah 1446  

Swat school van attack: Families call off sit-in after administration promises to arrest culprits

Private educational institutions shut; family stage sit-in at Kalam-Mingora Road
Protesters take up the body of the deceased driver for burial after successful talks with the administration on Tuesday. Photo via Anwar Anjum
Protesters take up the body of the deceased driver for burial after successful talks with the administration on Tuesday. Photo via Anwar Anjum
Family members of the school vehicle driver, who was shot dead in an attack outside the Knowledge City School in Swat’s Char Bagh area on Monday, stage a sit-in with the body on the Kalam-Mingora Road on Tuesday. Photo via Anwar Anjum
Family members of the school vehicle driver, who was shot dead in an attack outside the Knowledge City School in Swat’s Char Bagh area on Monday, stage a sit-in with the body on the Kalam-Mingora Road on Tuesday. Photo via Anwar Anjum

SWAT: Family members of the school vehicle driver, who was shot dead in an attack outside the Knowledge City School in Swat’s Char Bagh area on Monday, called off their sit-in on Monday after successful negotiations with the administration.

They had been protesting with the body on the Kalam-Mingora Road for the past two days. The administration promised to arrest the culprits soon and took up custody of the deceased’s children.

The deceased would be added to the ‘Shuhda Package’. The agreement was tentatively made in writing with the dignitaries of the area. A written agreement would be issued later. Both parties will be bound to abide by the agreement.

After this, the protesters offered final prayers of the deceased.

The Swat police formed a team comprising SP Upper Swat Sajid, DSP Ijaz Khan and AC Charbagh Shakirullah to negotiate with the protesters. However, they could not assure the demonstrators of action as they maintained that they would continue the sit-in with the body on the road till the arrest of the culprits.

The school van was dropping around 10 students to school when it was attacked by armed gunmen on a motorcycle on Monday morning, police said in a statement, adding that two assailants managed to escape from the crime scene.

Watch: Swat update: Is the TTP back in Pakistan?

The driver who died on the spot is identified as Hussain Ahmed son of Anayatullah, and two students of Swat Public School injured in the incident are Azhar Hussain son of Jan Bakhat resident of Dir and Mammon son of Safiullah resident of Chitral.

The attack sparked protests in the region, including Khwazakhela and Mingora, and led up to 2,000 girls and boys to walk out of classes in protest.

The Private Schools Association (PSA) announced its decision to shut down all schools on Tuesday in protest against the firing incident at a school van. “This is an attack on our children,” PSA President Sawab Khan told Aaj News.

Read: Internet shutdown in Swat continues for fourth week as militants make presence felt

Sources had earlier said that another protest was planned on Tuesday at 2pm at Mingora’s Nishat Chowk. Members of civil society and political parties would join the protest. The PML-N has supported the protest and local leaders including PPP’s Dr Amjad had joined the demonstration.

The government was trying to portray that it was not a terrorist incident, sources said, adding that the region’s law and order situation has been disturbed since the arrival of militants from Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, thousands of people in Swat took to the streets against unrest in the valley on Tuesday. ANP’s Amil Wali and JI Senator Mushtaq Ahmed also participated in the demonstration. The mobile network has been suspended in Mingora.

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