Islamabad, Aug 22 (IANS): Two students were killed and five others injured when a school van was attacked in Pakistan's east Punjab province on Thursday morning, police said.
The incident happened in the Attock district of the province where a gunman sprayed bullets at the van and fled the scene, the District Police Officer of Attock, Ghayas Gul, told the media.
He said that an investigation into the incident is underway. Still, according to the initial probe, the attacker targeted the van due to personal enmity with the driver, who remained safe in the attack, Xinhua news agency reported quoting local media.
The injured children have been shifted to a nearby hospital.
The country's President Asif Ali Zardari condemned the attack and directed the authorities to take strict action against those responsible.
"Targeting innocent children is a cruel and shameful act,” said the statement from the President's Office.
President Zardari prayed for the deceased, as well as for the speedy recovery of the injured children.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said such an attack on children was "quite a cruel and gruesome act," Radio Pakistan reported.
Expressing solidarity with the bereaved families, the premier prayed for the departed souls and early recovery of the injured.
He also directed the authorities concerned to take stern action against the culprits and to provide the best treatment facilities to the injured children.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi conveyed his sympathies to the bereaved families, a statement shared by state broadcaster PTV News said.
Praying for the injured children to get well soon, he said that those "targeting innocent children did not deserve to be called human beings".
"The shooting incident on children inside the school van is a monstrosity. Those exhibiting barbarism are not entitled to any concession,” Naqvi asserted.
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz sought a report on the incident from Inspector General of Police Usman Anwar, according to a statement issued by her Public Relations Officer.
She expressed deep grief over the death of the two students and directed that the best treatment facilities be provided to the injured.
National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq also condemned the attack, calling for the "strictest possible action" against the perpetrators, PTV News reported.
While incidents of gun violence targeting children are uncommon in the country, the recent shooting was not an isolated case.
Last year, a student was killed and six others as well as a teacher were injured when a police officer posted outside a school suddenly opened fire at a van in the Sangota area of Swat.
In October 2022, unidentified armed men riding a motorcycle opened fire on a school van in Swat's Char Bagh area, killing the driver and injuring a child.
According to the police, 15 students were inside the vehicle at the time of the attack.
On December 16, 2014, 147 students and staff members of the Army Public School Peshawar were martyred in a gun attack by the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants.
In 2012, education activist and Nobel laureate Malala Yosufzai's school bus was attacked by the TTP. While Yousafzai was the prime target, other children riding with her in the van had also sustained injuries.