Says govt writ restored in region; Protests also motivated by politicians
Tariq Saeed Peshawar
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police has totally ruled out the impression that terror attack on the Swat school van a couple of weeks back was an act of terrorism saying the driver of the van was killed for honour.
“The attack on school van in Swat was not an act of terrorism and the Police has arrested one man involved in the killing and hunt for the remaining two who are at large, was on,” KP Inspector General KP Police Moazzam Ansari said while addressing a press conference on Thursday.
Some two weeks ago, it may be recalled, a driver of a school van was killed and two students received bruises when their vehicle came under attack by unidentified gunmen in Guli Bagh village in Swat district creating an impression that the attack was carried out by the terrorists and that ter rorists groups were regrouping in Swat Malakand division.
While Mingora Swat has been in the grip of protests by the residents who are not only protesting against the recent attack on school van and some other terrorist incidents but also questioning the effectiveness of the security forces operations in the region, the IG P also hinted that the protest procession across Swat against the incident were also patronized by some political forces.
The provincial police chief also declared that the terrorists have been successfully flushed out from all the pockets including hilltops in Swat. He said the weapon and the motorcycle used in the killing have been recovered and said the school van driver was shot dead by his brother-in-law over honour.
Locals in Mingora claim that terrorists from banned outfits were behind the attack, although no terrorist group has yet taken responsibility for the attack.
The two violent incidents that left Swat Valley reeling under mass protests were not acts of terror, but vengeance arising from a personal feud, which led to fears of a resurging militancy. The murder of the school-van driver on October 10 was a case of honour-killing, IGP Ansari maintained and added a man killed the husband of his sister for honour.
“We have collared one of the three suspects, while the other two will soon land in the hands of police.” Likewise, the IG said, another incident of firing in which apparently children were targeted in Lower Dir, was also an armed clash between two rival groups.
