As security forces combed the campus block by block after the massacre Wednesday, they counted the bodies of at least 21 students. Four militants were also killed, said army spokesman Lt. Gen. Asim Bajwa.
The attack took place at Bacha Khan University in Charsadda, Peshawar — less than 40 kilometers (25 miles) from where the Pakistani Taliban slayed 145 people, including 132 children, in another college attack in December 2014.
It was unclear whether the group was responsible for Wednesday’s incident.
One Pakistani Taliban spokesman, Umar Mansoor, said it was in retaliation for military operations against the group. But another, Mohammad Khurrassani, from a separate wing of the militant group, condemned it.
Wednesday was the 28th anniversary of the university’s founder, Abdul Ghaffar Khan — a 1920s Pashtun independence activist and pacifist also known as Bacha Khan. Guests were gathered at the university to pay tribute to the man when the militants came, said student Zahoor Khan.
Khan said he saw his chemistry professor shot while advising students to stay inside.
Prime Minister’s statement
“Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif is deeply grieved over the sad incident of terrorists’ attack on Bacha Khan University, Charsada, which has reportedly resulted into the loss of precious human lives and injured many others,” a statement from the Prime Minister’s office read.
“While condemning the cowardly attack of the terrorists, the Prime Minister said that those killing innocent students and citizens have no faith and religion.”
The statement signed off with a quote from Sharif.
“We are determined and resolved in our commitment to wipe out the menace of terrorism from our homeland. The countless sacrifices made by our countrymen will not go in vain,” the statement quoted the Prime Minister, who is currently in Zurich, as saying.
Former Pakistan cricket captain and chairman of the Tehreek-e-Insaf political party Imran Khan condemned the attack as well.
“I am going to Charsadda myself, and will review the situation myself. We are united against terrorism and all of Pakistan is on page,” he told reporters.
The past few days have seen an increase in militancy in the region, including an attack on a checkpoint in Khyber Agency, a region west of Peshawar that borders Afghanistan, where 10 people were killed and 36 others injured.
Journalist Zahir Sherazi in Peshawar and Saleem Mehsud in Islamabad, Pakistan contributed to this report.
This story was first published on CNN.com, “At least 21 killed in attack on Bacha Khan University in Charsadda, Pakistan“
Islamabad, Pakistan (CNN) — Militants raided a university in northwest Pakistan, timing their attack to a ceremony at the school to ensure maximum casualties.
