Unidentified assailants kill 8 schoolteachers in Parachinar in two incidents

UPPER KURRAM/ISLAMABAD, May 04 (SABAH): Unidentified assailants on Thursday killed eight schoolteachers in Parachinar in two incidents, prompting the Kohat board to cancel the ongoing matriculation examination.

According to police, unidentified persons opened fire on teachers who were on exam duty in Teri Mengal school’s staff room. The killed school teachers have been identified as Mir Hussain, Jawwad Hussain, Naveed Hussain, Jawwad Ali, Muhammad Hussain and Ali Hussain. All the teachers killed in the firing incident were on exam duty.

In another incident in the same area, a teacher was killed whilst in a moving vehicle — taking the total number of educators killed in a day to eight.

The teacher, named Mohammad Sharif, who was killed inside the car also belonged to the same school, said the police. The teacher was shot while he was travelling on Shalozan Road.

Police launched a search operation to find the attackers and rescue authorities shifted the dead bodies to a Parachinar hospital.

Local police said unidentified gunmen shot the teachers in the staffroom of the tehsil’s high school. All the educators were at the building for performing their exam duties. The authorities have imposed emergency in all hospitals in the area.

The police are searching for the killers, but have not been able to track them down so far. Following the incident, the ongoing matric examinations were postponed.

Board examinations have been deferred for an indefinite period in Parachinar for now, announced the chairperson of Kohat’s education board, Samina Altaf. “The students inside the examination centre remained safe,” she said.

The chairperson further informed that board examinations in the rest of Kurram district and areas will be held as per schedule.

Meanwhile President Dr. Arif Alvi said that the attack on the teachers by those who are the enemies of education is condemnable.

Condemning the attack, the head of state expressed grief over the assassination of on-duty teachers in two incidents.

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.

President Arif Alvi condemned the attacks, grieving the killing of “on-duty teachers”. “The attack on teachers by the enemies of knowledge is condemnable,” a statement on Twitter quoted him as saying.

The president said he hoped that the “suspects will be arrested soon and punished according to the law”. He offered prayers for the slain individuals and extended condolences to their heirs.

PPP Co-Chairperson and former president Asif Ali Zardari also condemned the firing incidents, terming the “killing of on-duty teachers” an act of “terrorism”. A statement shared on the PPP’s official Twitter quoted him as saying that the perpetrators of the attack should be taken to task.