TERRORISM: Student, Top Police Official Die in Pakistan Attacks

Two Deadly Incidents

Two recent incidents have resulted in death at the hands of terrorists in Pakistan: A brave 15-year-old high school student and a senior police official in Pakistan’s struggle against the Taliban.

Pakistan map via CIA World Factbook

Tributes have been pouring in for the Pakistani teenager who was killed on Monday (January 6) when he tackled a suicide bomber targeting his school in northwest Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the BBC reports.

Fifteen-year-old Aitzaz Hasan was with friends outside school when they spotted a man wearing a suicide vest. Despite the pleas of his classmates, he decided to confront and capture the bomber who then detonated his vest, his cousin told the BBC.

Aitzaz is being hailed as a hero in an outpouring of praise on social media. He has has been declared a “great hero” by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinvial government, according to The News International. Locals are calling for the boy’s sacrifice to be acknowledged on a federal level “as he not only demonstrated bravery but also intelligence and courage,” the Pakistani news website said.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, a senior Pakistani policeman was killed in a bombing as his convoy was travelling through Karachi. He was killed along with at least two other officers, The Independent reported.

A faction of the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the bombing, following up on repeated vows through the years to have him killed, the New York Times reported.

The police official, Muhammad Aslam Khan — widely known as Chaudhry Aslam — had survived at least nine previous assassination attempts. His hard-charging public crusades against Karachi’s entrenched criminal enterprises and sectarian violence earned him many admirers, but also many enemies, officials said, according to the Times.