MOSCOW, January 2 (RIA Novosti) - Seven NGO employees, six of them women, have been killed in a drive-by shooting in northwestern Pakistani town of Swabi, the Pakistan Daily Times said on Wednesday.
“The gunmen were waiting for the NGO staff by the roadside and ambushed their van when it reached there,” said District Police Officer Abdur Rashid.
Swabi police chief Abdul Rashid Khan said there were four attackers on two motorbikes.
All victims were employees of the local charity Ujalla, whose members focus on health and education. Five women were teachers, the sixth was a health worker and the man worked as a health technician. Their driver was injured in the attack.
The motive for the attack remains unknown, but Swabi borders the former Taliban stronghold Malakand. Police investigates whether the gunmen had Taliban links. No arrests have been made so far.
Health and education workers in Pakistan are often targeted by those who oppose their work. Last month, six women working for a children polio vaccination campaign were killed in Karachi and Peshawar. The team reportedly received phone threats before the attack.
