Residents of Swat, led by the relatives of a slain van driver, continued their sit-in for a second day on Tuesday in protest against the attack on a school bus that also left two students injured.
Maintaining that they would not end their demonstration until the culprits were brought to justice, the protesters described the recent surge of terrorism in Swat as “intolerable.” Residents of the erstwhile tribal area have been protesting against militancy in the region for several months, demanding clarity on whether peace talks between the government and the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) would lead to a return of the militants in a virtual state-within-a-state.
Several residents of Mingora, Swat have expressed concerns that the TTP might have been responsible for the attack on the school van, though the banned group has denied any role in the shooting.
“People are angry and they are protesting. Students from all the private schools came out to protest,” Ahmad Shah, principal of a private school told the AFP news agency. He said schools would remain closed today (Tuesday) to demand the government respond to the threat.
According to police, the driver was killed by unidentified assailants who waited for his van on a parked motorcycle and opened fire when it was driving past their location. They then fled the scene. Police have said a search operation has been carried out and a case registered against unidentified men for the assault, but there has been no headway on locating the culprits.
“We want peace in the region and we will fight terrorism,” the protesters have said, stressing that they would not permit the return of militancy to the region under any circumstances.
Swat has a troubled history with militancy in Pakistan. In 2012, Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai was shot in the head while she was returning home from school in an incident very similar to Monday’s shooting. The TTP had claimed responsibility for that attack. Earlier, the Tehreek-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi had set up a parallel government in the region, imposing a harsh version of shariah that saw dozens of people executed and a complete ban on the movement of women in public spaces.