“I don’t think my shaheed niece will get justice, we’re afraid the case will be forgotten like other ones.”

Hayat Khan is uncle to six-year-old Aisha, who was killed when a security guard opened fire on a van carrying school girls in Sangota, Swat. The attack also injured seven other children who survived and have now returned to school.

But for Hayat, the investigations aren’t progressing as hoped. He also has reservations because it was not a terrorist who fired on the girls but a policeman.

He says that the people are now afraid of the police itself. Hayat says the department offered condolences, but if there was no justice people would start hating them.

For the girls, who are now back at school to continue their studies, the fear continues to be present.

Aisha’s sister Areesha, a 10-year-old student from grade 4, saw her getting shot.

“We asked the guard to open the gate, as soon the half of the vehicle went out, the policeman opened at the tires and then at the back half of the bus,” Areesha said.

“Some girls were shot from behind, the others from the front. Some teachers were shot in the foot.”

Areesha said one of her cousins had been injured on the nose while she had sustained injuries to her face. The bullet that shot her sister in the head, instantly killing her, grazed her as well. Still, Areesha is determined to continue school.

Gul Bashi, who was also in the vehicle, could not figure out what was going on when the firing began.

“I thought someone had started fireworks,” she said.

Only when she saw the clothes of her friends stained with blood did she realise that some had showered bullets on their van. She jumped out of the van to save herself, but many of her relatives were left behind.

When one of Gul Bashi’s counsis went back inside the vehicle to fetch her bag, she saw Aisha’s dead body covered with blood. She screamed.

Gul Bashi said that the fear made her sight grow dark. But like Areesha, she too is back at school.

Hoorain, nine, also remembers the incident vividly. She said she was in the vehicle with others and the firing started as soon as the vehicle moved. Broken shards of the glass from the windows injured her face.

She said that she saved her life by diving under her seat, and she got injured when she poked her head out. She eventually made her way out.

“I was scared, the firing was too much.”

When she went back in after the firing was over, she found Aisha, a relative lying on the floor. She screamed and the other guard pulled her out again. He then went to get Aisha and took her to the hospital.

Who is the attacker?

According to Swat DPO Shafiullah Gandapur, the gunman Alam Khan joined the special police force and was traine din Buner’s police school in 2022. He had appointed at the Sangota Public School for five months.

Alam Khan belongs to Islampur, and one of his old neighbors told Aaj News that he had left his home after quarelling with his father. Continuous absence from duty led to him being suspended, but he was reinstated and posted at the same school again.

He had emptied one magazine on to the van and was reloading when people grabbe a hold of him to stop him.

Hayat Khan has claimed that Alam was linked to the Taliban, while others claim he was mentally unstable. He has been booked under booked under Sections 427, 320, 324 and JIT is investigating the case.