Pakistan expresses solidarity with Canada as school shooting claims 9 lives

People gather outside the school building after an assailant opened fire at a high school in the town of Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, Canada, on February 10, 2026. (REUTERS)
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Updated 12 February 2026
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Pakistan expresses solidarity with Canada as school shooting claims 9 lives

  • At least 9 dead, 27 wounded in shooting incident at secondary school, residence in British Columbia on Tuesday
  • Officials say the shooter was found dead with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound after the incident

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday expressed solidarity with Canada as a high school shooting incident in a British Columbia town left at least nine dead, more than 20 others injured. 

Six people were found at the Tumbler Ridge Secondary School while a seventh died on the way to the hospital, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said in a statement on Tuesday. Two other people were found dead at a home that police believe is connected to the shooting at the school. A total of 27 people were wounded in the attack. 

In an initial emergency alert, police described the suspect as a “female in a dress with brown hair,” with officials saying she was found dead with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

“Saddened by the tragic shooting in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia,” Sharif wrote on social media platform X.

He conveyed his condolences to the families of the victims, wishing a swift recovery to those injured in the attack. 

“Pakistan stands in solidarity with the people and Government of Canada in this difficult time,” he added. 

 

 

Canadian police have not yet released any information about the age of the shooter or the victims.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he was “devastated” by the violence, announcing he had suspended plans to travel to the Munich Security Conference on Wednesday.

While mass shootings are rare in Canada, last April, a vehicle attack that targeted a Filipino cultural festival in Vancouver killed 11 people.

British Columbia Premier David Eby called the latest violence “unimaginable.”

Nina Krieger, British Columbia’s minister of public safety, described it as one of the “worst mass shootings” in Canada’s history. 


Pakistan says Afghanistan operation targeting only militants

Updated 09 March 2026
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Pakistan says Afghanistan operation targeting only militants

  • Both countries claim to have inflicted heavy battlefield losses on the other since the clashes began on Feb. 26
  • Islamabad has been bombing areas it says harbor ‘militant targets’ in Afghanistan, an allegation Kabul has denied

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Information Minister Ataullah Tarar has said that no civilian areas were targeted in the ongoing Afghanistan operation and Pakistani strikes were solely aimed at militant infrastructure and support networks, his office said on Monday.

The statement came after the Afghan Taliban government and the United Nations mission in Kabul accused Pakistan of targeting civilian areas during the ongoing operation, “Ghazab Lil Haq,” or the “Wrath for Truth.”

Clashes between the countries began on Feb. 26, when Afghan forces launched an attack on Pakistani military along their shared border in retaliation for Pakistan’s earlier airstrikes on what Islamabad said were militant camps inside Afghanistan.
In a conversation with foreign media correspondents, Tarar said that Pakistan was taking action inside Afghanistan based on “accurate” intelligence information.

“Pakistan has not targeted any civilian area in Afghanistan,” he was quoted as saying by his ministry. “Pakistan is only targeting the infrastructure of terrorists and their support system.”

The minister denied reports of civilian deaths, saying the UN agency was “completely dependent on the Taliban government” for information. The UN rights chief said Friday that 56 Afghan civilians had been killed, nearly half of them children, since the hostilities began.

Tarar also dismissed as “just propaganda” the claims made by an Afghan defense ministry spokesperson about inflicting battlefield losses on Pakistan. Tarar said on Sunday that 583 Afghan Taliban fighters had so far been killed in Pakistani strikes, a claim difficult to verify independently.

Islamabad has long accused Kabul of sheltering militant groups, including the Pakistani Taliban, or the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, and facilitating attacks against Pakistan. Afghanistan denies the allegations and says Islamabad’s security challenges are an internal matter.

Afghanistan has called for dialogue to resolve the conflict. Pakistan, however, has rejected talks, saying the operation will continue until its objectives are met.

“There is a nexus between the Afghan Taliban government and several terrorist organizations operating from Afghan soil,” Tarar added.