Pakistan Univ Attack: 29 Dead, 60 Injured, Combing Operations On
Armed gunmen stormed into Bacha Khan University in Charsadda, Pakistan, early on Wednesday morning.
- 29 killed and over 60 injured so far. Death toll expected to rise.
- Four militants killed so far.
- TTP claims responsibility for attack.
- Army clearance operation underway.
- Pakistani PM Nawaz Sharif says, “those who kill innocent children have no religion.”
Army Chief General Raheel Sharif visited the Bacha Khan university campus and has condemned the attack, according to Pakistani media reports.
The Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif has also condemned the attack which has been claimed by the mastermind of the 2014 attack on a school in Peshawar — Umar Mansoor.
Mansoor is the head of banned terrorist group Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Geedar, and claimed the attack through a Facebook post which is now unavailable.
However, spokesperson of TTP Mohammad Khorasani, condemned the attack and said that the attack is against the Sharia law, according to a report by Dawn.
Former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Farooq Abdullah, has said that it is high time for Pakistan to “start friendship with India”.
The death toll in the attack on Bacha Khan university has risen to 29 — 19 students and 10 staff members — according to a report by Pakistani new organistaion, Geo News.
A team of federal officers — visiting the Bacha Khan campus right now — has been appointed by Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
Pakistan’s Army Chief General Raheel Sharif is at the attack site taking stock of the situation right now.
PM Nawaz Sharif is currently in Switzerland to attend the 46th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum.
K-P Chief Minister Pervez Khattak, who is currently in Scotland, has been asked to cut his trip short and return to Pakistan as soon as possible.
Indian PM, Narendra Modi has condemned the attack.
Pakistan’s government has issued a statement on the attack.
The Govt of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s official twitter handle confirms 25 deaths in the attack.
A witness says he spotted the attackers.
Death Toll Rises to 21; Operation Area Expands
Four Terrorists Killed
Gen Asim Bajwa of Pakistan Army’s media wing - ISPR, tweets,
Pakistani PM Nawaz Sharif says “those who kill innocent children have no religion.”
Reports quote a minister as saying there are 20 dead and 60 injured, and that 12 terrorists were involved in attack.
A team of SSG commandos has entered the university to help with the operation.
TTP Claims Responsibility
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has claimed responsibility for the attack on Bacha Khan University, says Pakistan’s Express Tribune.
Meanwhile, security forces say that fog is hampering operations.
Today also marks the 28th death anniversary of Bacha Khan (popularly known as Frontier Khan in India)
Many Dead, Say Witnesses
At least seven bodies have been retrieved from the university premises, according to latest reports. Witnesses and victims who were injured have said they saw many people being shot. - change: Witnesses and injured victims who were injured have said they saw many people being shot.
‘Terrorists Contained’
“Terrorists contained in two blocks within University,” tweets Gen Asim Bajwa of Pakistan Army’s media wing - ISPR.
A group of gunmen stormed a university in volatile northwestern Pakistan on Wednesday using the cover of thick fog, police said. The firing inside the campus still going on and two explosions have been heard. Latest reports suggest two militants have been killed by the police.
The militants entered the Bacha Khan University in Charsadda, northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, early on Wednesday before opening fire on students and teachers in classrooms and hostels, two police officials said.
Media reported that a chemistry professor, Dr Syed Hamid Husain, has been killed and 50 people wounded in the attack. Other local media reports indicate casualties among students.
Vice Chancellor Fazal Rahim told reporters that several students were stuck inside the campus buildings.
The army and police had moved into the university and a gunfight with the attackers was under way, Deputy Inspector General Saeed Wazir told Reuters.
Television footage showed soldiers entering the campus as ambulances lined up outside the main gate and anxious parents consoled each other.
“We launched an operation inside the university and are trying to rescue the students and staff of the institution,” Wazir said.
Pakistan has killed and arrested hundreds of suspected militants under a counter-terrorism plan enacted after a massacre of school children in December 2014 in the northwest.
Police said the gunmen had used the cover of a thick fog on a wintry morning to storm the campus.
The Bacha Khan University teaches over 3,000 students and hosted an additional 600 visitors on Wednesday for a poetry recital, the vice chancellor said.
Shabir Khan, a lecturer in the English department, said he was about to leave the hostel for the department when firing began.
“Most of the students and staff were in classes when the firing began,” Khan said. “I have no idea about what’s going on but I heard one security official talking on the phone to someone and said many people had been killed and injured.”
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