At least 25 people including students, teachers and security guards lost their lives Wednesday when armed militants broke into Bacha Khan University in Pakistan's northwestern province known as Khyber-Pakhtunkhwah where Pakistan's mercenary army is conducting a brutal operation against militants.
Media reports said all four terrorists, who had stormed the university, have been killed and the security forces have taken control of the University in Charsadda near Peshawar, capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwah.
The News reported that the heavily armed terrorists scaled one of the boundary walls from the backside of the university with an aim to carry out an attack like the one on Army Public School, Peshawar in December 2014 killing 144 people most of whom were students.
The alleged mastermind of the Army Public School Peshawar attack, Umar Mansoor, of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Geedar group has claimed the attack through a post on his Facebook page, saying that four attackers were sent to the university.
However, a spokesperson from the TTP, Mohammad Khorasani, was reported issuing a conflicting statement shortly after Mansoor's claim, in which Khorasani condemned the attack, terming it "against Shariah". Khorasani also warned that those "using the naming of TTP will be brought to justice".
Director General of Military Public Relations, Lt Gen Asim Bajwa on Wednesday told a press conference that there were a total of four terrorists who were contained and killed at the hostel's stairs and rooftop. He said two cell phones which were in terrorists' use have been seized. He said even after the terrorists were killed, one of the mobile phones were still getting calls from an Afghan SIM. "We also have information where the instruction to the terrorists were being made," he said.
The Indian Factor
The attack took place four days after India's Minister for Defence Manohar Parrikar said "those who attacked us will also feel the same pain, the place and type of response would be of our choice". On January 17, just two days ahead of today's attack, Parrikar repeated his threatening statement in some other words. "Our patience at Pakistan's move against terrorists - who carried out Pathankot and Mumbai attacks - is running thin. The world will see the results in the next one year," he had said.
Former Interior Minister Rehman Malik told The News that it is an international conspiracy and RAW and India are behind this. "After Pathankot attack, the Indian Minister said that Pakistan will face its consequences in the coming month," he said. "The new wave of terrorism is the proof of this conspiracy," he added. He said the attack on Bacha Khan University is a continuity of the attack on the army public school in December 2014.
The Daily Times quoted a private TV channel as reporting that the Indian consulate in Afghanistan's Jalalabad city provided Rs 3 million ($ 30,000.00) to the militants in order to carry out Charsadda attack.
However, the government of Pakistan did not issue any statement implicating India in the attack.
Who is Bacha Khan?
Bacha Khan University was founded in 2012 and named after Abdul Ghaffar Khan, a Pashtun nationalist leader known famously as Bacha Khan. Wednesday (Jan 20) was his 28th death anniversary. The Chardadda attack coincided with his death anniversary.
Bacha Khan was a close friend of Mahatma Gandhi who strongly opposed the Muslim League's demand for partition of India and creation of Pakistan. When the Indian National Congress declared its acceptance of the partition plan without consulting him he felt very sad. He told the Congress "you have thrown us to the wolves."
He was closely identified with Mahatma Gandhi because of his non-violence principles.He is known in India as the 'Frontier Gandhi'. In 1929 he founded a non-violence Khudai Khidmatgar (Servants of God) movement. He told its members: "I am going to give you such a weapon that the police and the army will not be able to stand against it. It is the weapon of the Prophet, but you are not aware of it. That weapon is patience and righteousness. No power on earth can stand against it."
After independence of Pakistan, Bacha Khan pledged allegiance to Pakistan and demanded an autonomous "Pashtunistan" administrative unit within the country.
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