Bacha Khan University reopened, prayers offered for victims

“The five facilitators have been arrested and the another one, whom I will call terrorist-A is still at large”, military spokesman Lieutenant General Asim Bajwa told a televised press conference in Peshawar on Saturday.

That school — the Bacha Khan University in the northwestern town of Charsadda — reopened briefly on Monday but then closed indefinitely to give students more time to recover from the incident.

Police said that Bacha Khan University (BKU) was reopened and additional security personnel have been deployed to take care of the university’s security.

Pakistani authorities say the attack was planned and orchestrated by Pakistani Taliban militants based in neighbouring Afghanistan, and has called on the Afghan government to co-operate in its investigation.

“We have demanded weapons from the government and weapons licenses for all teachers and management officials”, Bacha Khan University (BKU) registrar Hamidullah Khan said.

A splinter faction of the Taliban claimed responsibility and has threatened similar attacks.

Sharif said that Pakistan and Afghanistan had an agreement that both countries would not allow militants to use their territory to launch attacks on their neighbour.

The army spokesman said that one facilitator, had provided the map of the university as he had earlier worked in the campus.

Mansoor is also behind the December 24 massacre of 134 children in Peshawar – the deadliest militant attack in Pakistan’s history.

“We have not yet identified financiers in the attack but they would also be exposed”, he said. Quran Khawani was also arranged in the auditorium where teachers and staff recited the Holy Quran for the victims and prayed for their eternal piece.

The students demanded restoration of the NCC training programme in educational institutions to help students protect themselves in case of terrorist attacks.

Pakistani authorities evacuated a girls’ school on Friday when hundreds of terrified parents rushed to save their daughters after rumours of an attack, highlighting frayed nerves days after gunmen stormed a university killing 21 people.