Friends and families of Shia teachers killed in an attack at a school in the Kurram district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) have said the teachers were tortured before being killed while adding that the residents had conveyed their concerns to the district authorities several times in the past regarding growing sectarianism in the area.
According to media reports, on May 4, gunmen opened fire at the Government High School of Teri Mangal area, killing seven teachers Syed Hussain, Liaquat Hussain, Syed Ali Shah, Mehdi Hussain, Mohammad Ali, Ali Hussain, and another invigilator.
According to a BBC Urdu report, the incident occurred at 1:30pm on May 4 when students were still in the classrooms. The armed gunmen searched for the four teachers and then took them to the principal’s office along with three laborers, who were working in the school’s laboratory. All seven were tortured before being killed.
One of the victims, Mehdi Hussain had done an MPHIL in Physics and was teaching at the school for the last two years. Mehdi Hussain’s friend, who is a Kurram resident, said that he was tortured before being killed, BBC Urdu reported.
“His eyes were missing and he was also attacked with an axe,” he added.
City residents have said there was growing sectarianism in the area, however, teachers were assured they would not be harmed by the authorities.
Among the deceased, the two teachers had already expressed reservations regarding security in the area and had requested a transfer, however, they were assured that no harm would come to them.
Friends and students of deceased teachers have said there is resentment in the area against the authorities because they were aware of the situation but they took no action to ensure the security of the teachers.
 have said the teachers were tortured before being killed while adding that the residents had relayed their concerns several times to the district authorities regarding growing sectarianism in the past.){kind=link}