Firing near women's college sparks panic in Pakistan

Islamabad: At least 12 girls were injured today in a stampede caused by a shootout near a women's college in Pakistan's Punjab province, officials said.

The incident occurred in Government Waqar-un-Nisa Girls College located at Sir Sayyiad Chowk area of Rawalpindi. Shots were heard as police exchanged fire with car thieves, which created panic as students thought it could be a terrorist attack, Regional Police Officer Fakhar Sultan said.

"The incident has nothing to do with terrorism and no need to worry," he said. Another official said that the fire prompted the girls to run for safety and some of them jumped from the second floor of the building, while other jumped over the periphery wall of the college. "About a dozen of them received injuries and were being treated," he said.

Local TV channels reported that the college was closed after the incident. Security is on high alert after a prestigious university in northwestern Pakistan was attacked on January 20 by the Taliban in which 21 people, mostly students, were killed.