Criminals held 200 to 250 children hostages in a high school of Pakistan's North West Frontier Province (NWFP) Monday, Interior Ministry spokesman Brig (retd) Javed Iqbal Cheema said. Security forces, which were chasing the absconding kidnappers, encircled the school located in village Wali Dad and asked the six captors to surrender and free the children. The criminals want safe passage as a condition to release the children. Cheema said seven criminals abducted the Education District Officer of Kirk Dr. Hussain Jan along with his driver while they were on their way to the office. Police followed them and got the two released. In the exchange of fire, an accused Gul Jamil was killed. The remaining criminals fled and took refuge in the school and made the children hostage. Cheema said that senior security officials were engaged in talks with the captors. He said their best effort was to save the children. He said the precise identity of the criminals would be known after their capture.
