Media reports say at least seven people have been killed in shootings in northwestern Pakistan.
Reuters, citing Kurram district officials, says six Shi'ite Muslims, including four teachers and two lower staff, were killed in a shooting at a school in northwestern Pakistan on May 4 in what appeared to be retaliation for an attack shortly before in which a Sunni Muslim teacher was shot dead.
Both incidents reportedly occurred in the Parachinar area of Kurram tribal district near the border with Afghanistan.
Reuters notes that the area is off limits to journalists and human rights activists, which makes it difficult to verify facts independently.
Pakistan-based The Express Tribune cited police sources as saying that that Muhammad Sharif was killed after unknown persons opened fire on a moving vehicle on Solozan Road. After the attack, armed men entered the Teri Mangal High School and killed six schoolteachers and a staff member.
The deceased teachers were identified as Mir Hussain, Jawad Hussain, Naveed Hussain, Jawad Ali, Muhammad Ali and Ali Hussain, all of whom belonging to the Turi Bangash tribe. The teachers were performing examination duties at that time.
According to The Express Tribune, the teachers were inside the staffroom when unknown assailants opened fire on them. The students inside the examination center reportedly remained safe.
Emergency was declared at the hospitals across the district after the killing. Authorities closed schools in Parachinar as well as the transportation routes because of security concerns, local administration officials said.
The Express Tribune says contradictory accounts were given about the motive for the killings. A statement from the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa chief minister’s office said it involved a property dispute, but the regional commissioner said sectarian antagonism appeared to be the cause.
