Teacher accidentally shoots pupil dead in Swat

Published June 11, 2015
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province allowed teachers to carry guns —  and began giving them firearms training — in January, saying it could not provide police guards for every school.— AP/file
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province allowed teachers to carry guns — and began giving them firearms training — in January, saying it could not provide police guards for every school.— AP/file

PESHAWAR: A school teacher in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Swat region accidentally shot dead a 12-year-old pupil on Thursday while cleaning his pistol in the staff room, police said.

Teachers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province were given permission to carry firearms in the classroom after Taliban militants massacred more than 140 students at a school in the city of Peshawar in December.

Read: Militant siege of Peshawar school ends, 141 killed

Thursday's deadly incident happened on the outskirts of Swat's Mingora area, around 180 kilometres northeast of Peshawar.

“Majid Khan, a teacher at the private Sangota Model School was cleaning his pistol in the staff room when it fired a bullet by accident, hitting a student passing through the corridor,” local police official Fazl Rabi told AFP.

He said the student died on the spot.

Also read: Primary teachers in KP refuse to keep arms in school

Saleem Khan Marwat, the area police chief, confirmed the incident and said the teacher had been arrested.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province allowed teachers to carry guns — and began giving them firearms training — in January, saying it could not provide police guards for every school.

Take a look: Teachers get gun training after Peshawar massacre

The move was part of efforts to beef up school security after the Peshawar massacre, the deadliest terror attack in Pakistani history.

Heavily armed militants went from room to room at an army-linked school, eventually gunning down a total of 150 people.

But teachers' associations objected to arming staff, saying it was not their job to fight off militants.

Opinion

Editorial

Electricity relief
Updated 05 Apr, 2025

Electricity relief

If govt ensures that requisite power reforms are implemented, it will earn much praise for reforming a vital segment of the economy.
Trump’s trade wars
05 Apr, 2025

Trump’s trade wars

THE so-called reciprocal tariffs rolled out recently by American President Donald Trump have expanded his vicious...
Legalised land grab
05 Apr, 2025

Legalised land grab

THE Modi government has passed a new bill targeting the Muslim community, this time eyeing swathes of priceless real...
More than words
Updated 04 Apr, 2025

More than words

Holistic development can only work when there is organic and credible political activity in the province.
Poor publicity
04 Apr, 2025

Poor publicity

FORTUNE does not seem to be favouring the PTI — at least not yet. With the party’s founder confined from public...
Party pooper
04 Apr, 2025

Party pooper

INDIA’s role of a spoilsport is tiresome. From pulling books from shelves, such as Wendy Doniger’s The Hindus: ...