Students in Pakistan protest after a school bus assault.
On October 10, 2022, students and instructors from private schools protest a recent assault in Mingora. — AFP
Students from private schools around Swat Valley organise a peace demonstration.
Locals in Mingora, the city where the incident occurred, believe it was carried out by the TTP.
Over the last year, the Pakistani government and the TTP have had a succession of on-again, off-again ceasefires.
MINGORA: According to authorities, a driver was killed and a student was critically injured in an attack on a school bus in Pakistan on Monday, prompting up to 2,000 girls and boys to walk out of class in protest.
The Swat Valley, where the incident occurred, was formerly controlled by the proscribed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), who shot Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai on a school bus in the same city 10 years ago.
TTP has reappeared in the region, with an increase in attacks in recent weeks.
“The attacker left the scene, and a search operation has been begun,” Ali Badshah, a police spokesman, told AFP, adding that the injured youngster was between the ages of 10 and 11.
Locals in Mingora, where the incident occurred, believe it was carried out by the TTP, although the TTP has denied involvement for Monday’s shooting.
On Monday, students from private schools around Swat Valley protested for peace.
“People are enraged and are demonstrating. Students from all private schools demonstrated “According to Ahmad Shah, principal of a private school, schools would stay closed on Tuesday.
The attack on Monday came a day after the tenth anniversary of Yousafzai’s shooting by the TTP when she was a schoolgirl.
Yousafzai survived the murder attempt and went on to earn the Nobel Peace Prize as a worldwide education champion.
Over the last year, the Pakistani government and the TTP have had a succession of on-again, off-again ceasefires.
On Monday, two girls and a boy were injured in cross-firing in a neighbouring town, which authorities claimed was the product of a “personal vengeance.”
Pakistan’s security has improved significantly in recent years, thanks to the military’s crackdown on militancy, which has killed tens of thousands of lives.
