Swat school van attack was not act of terrorism: K-P police chief

Incident was result of a personal enmity and one accused had been arrested, says IGP Ansari

PESHWAR:

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Inspector General of Police (IGP) Muazzam Jah Ansari has said that the recent attack on a school van in Swat was not an act of terrorism but a result of personal enmity.

Addressing a press conference in Saidu Sharif on Thursday, the police chief said one accused involved in the attack had been arrested while the search for the other two is underway.

He said that the killing of Hussain Ahmad, the school van driver who was killed in the attack on October 10, spread terror in the area and locals termed the incident an act of terrorism.

The police official said the brother-in-law of the deceased Hussain Ahmed has been arrested in connection with the killing.

The hunt for the other two suspects is underway while one accused has escaped to Dubai and the police have approached Interpol for his arrest, he added.

IGP Ansari said the police have also “cleared all mountains of” terrorists and in the next two to three months the peace of Swat will be restored completely.

As many as 63 people involved in extortion were detained by police in one year, the official said.

The police chief went on to say that the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan also affected the security situation in the region as criminals and terrorists were released from prisons.

At least five students were injured and a person killed in two separate firing incidents in Lower Dir and Swat earlier this month.

Also read: Man killed, students injured in K-P firing incidents

A driver of a school van was killed and two students were injured when their vehicle came under attack by unidentified gunmen in the village of Guli Bagh within Swat district, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P).

Officials said the assailants were waiting on a motorcycle and attacked the van as it passed. They fled unchallenged soon after the attack.

District officials claimed that the driver was targeted in the attack.

In the second incident, three students were injured when their school van was 'caught in a crossfire' as two armed groups clashed. Officials claimed that two groups were clashing with each other as the van passed through the area.

One student was critically injured and had to be shifted to Saidu Sharif Hospital, while the condition of the other two is said to be stable. The students included two boys and a girl.