SWAT: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Inspector General of Police (IGP) Moazam Jah Ansari on Thursday said the two separate incidents of gun violence in the province including the attack on school van in Gulibagh area of Swat, were not acts of terrorism rather but personal vengeance.
“The murder of the school-van driver on October 10 in Gulibagh area of Swat was a case of honour killing,” declared the KP IG Police while addressing a press conference here conference in Saidu Sharif in Swat on Thursday.
He said in the case a man killed the husband of his sister for honour. “We have arrested one of the three suspects, while the other two will soon be in the police custody.”
IGP Jah said, similarly, the incident of firing in Lower Dir that seemed to target children was also an armed clash between two rival groups.
It was worth mentioned here that armed men attacked a school van in Char Bagh area of Swat Valley, killing the driver and injuring a student on October 10.
The shooters targeted the driver of the school van and wounded him fatally, adding that 10-11 students were onboard the van at the time of the shooting.
The police also confirmed that only one child, sitting in the front seat with the driver, was injured in the attack. Following the incident, the whole valley took to the streets to protest against the attack, believing it was an act of terrorism.
The protestors said that the terrorist attacks and the unrest in the province are intolerable. “We want peace in the region and we will fight terrorism,” said the protesters.
Residents of Mingora, the city where the attack took place, fear it was carried out by the militants but the militants have denied responsibility for Monday’s shooting.
“All hilltops have been cleared of terrorists and in the next two to three months all the splendor of Swat valley will be restored soon.” Muzzam Jah Ansari claimed.
Commissioner Malakand Division Shaukat Ali Yousafzai, DIG Malakand Region Zeeshan Asghar, DIG CTD Javed Iqbal, DPO Swat Zahid Nawaz Marwat and SP CTD Izhar Shah were also present on the occasion.
KP IG Muazzam Jah said that the situation has changed in Afghanistan on August 15, 2021, and the entire region has changed and the situation worsened after the release of criminals and terrorists from prisons. “But we want to make it clear that whatever terrorists will come action will be taken against them.”
He said that on October 10,2022 the killing of the school van driver Hussain Ahmed in Gulibagh had spread terror in the area.
The police, however, investigated the case on scientific lines and traced the culprits. His brother-in-law, who was involved in the murder of Hussain Ahmed, has been arrested by skillfully investigating this case, while search for the two suspect is on and among them, one accused has escaped to Dubai, for which Interpol is being contacted and soon he will be caught by the police. He said that motive behind the murder was a personal and domestic dispute, saying the weapon and motorcycle used in the crime have also been recovered.
The KP IGP further said that after the death of the father and son and the injuries of the army personnel in an incident on Mingora Bypass, the CTD has launched an investigation and after completion of the investigation soon, the facts will be revealed to the public.
He said that school children were also targeted in district Dir on the day of Gulibagh incident but the facts came out after a few hours. The children were injured as a result of firing between the two groups.
He said that investigation is also going on regarding the extortion call and threatening letter to provincial minister Atif Khan. “However, an official message has come out from the TTP that they have not sent this letter.” The IGP said the police was still investigating the matter. “It is clear that during the last one year, the police have arrested 63 extortion callers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” he claimed.
