Unidentified gunmen have attacked Bacha Khan University in Khyber Pakhtunkha’s Charsadda town in Northwestern Pakistan and opened fire on students and faculty members on Wednesday, January 20.
Reports are still coming in and we will keep updating this copy as soon as more information is available.
Here are the important updates:
- The attackers entered the university by scaling walls early in the morning and opened fire on students and teachers in classrooms and hostels.
- 3,000 students are enrolled at the university.
- 19 people have been killed and around 51 people have been injured.
- Deputy Inspector General Saeed Wazir said two gunmen have been killed. However, there are still many attackers who are believed to be on the second and third floors of campus buildings and firing is still going on. 90 percent of the people have been rescued.
- The injured have been taken to District Headquarters Hospital, Charsadda for treatment as per a report by Dawn.
- A senior Pakistani Taliban commander claimed responsibility for the assault in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province but an official spokesman later denied involvement, calling the attack “un-Islamic”.