On 20 January 2016, four terrorists opened fire at Bacha Khan University (Pashto: باچا خان پوهنتون) near Charsadda, Pakistan.

[3][7] On 23 January 2016, the Pakistani army laid the blame on a Taliban commander and the leader of its Tariq Geedar group, Khalifa Omar Mansoor alongside his deputy Qari Zakir.

[5][8] Mufti Khalid, one of the facilitator of the attack, was later killed in an ambush by unidentified person(s) in Kunar province of Afghanistan while he was travelling.

[12] Pakistan Army launched an operation in the valley during the time when Awami National Party (ANP) was in power in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

[16] At 9:30 am, four men entered classrooms and accommodation blocks, opening fire on teachers and students; they were also armed with suicide vests.

[2][19] According to provincial Health Minister Shaukat Ali Yousafzai, more than 30 people have been killed and over 60 wounded, including students and an assistant professor.

Around 200 people were present in the examination hall, all of whom were rescued, and timely action by police and army has prevented large scale damage".

[24] A security official said the death toll could rise to as high as 40 as army commandos cleared out student hostels and classrooms.

[31] Pakistan's former interior minister Rehman Malik also blamed Indian secret agency RAW for planning and carrying out the attacks.

[32] On 23 January 2016, the Pakistani army spokesperson said that Mansoor was the mastermind and the attack was managed by his deputy Qari Zakir.

[5] It was reported that the attackers gave stiff resistance to state security forces as they engaged in an operation to clear the university over several hours.

Unnamed intelligence sources said eight to 10 attackers were inside the school and that they were between 18 and 25 years old wearing civilian clothes with their faces covered.

[18] Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who was in Zurich to attend the World Economic Forum, said: "I'm deeply grieved over the attack, and we are determined and resolved in our commitment to wipe out the menace of terrorism from our homeland.

[33] Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif reached Charsadda to boost the morale of the security personnel and took part in the operation.

A delegation reviewing the security recommended the campus move to a safer location near the motorway to Charsadda on a 62.5 acres (25.3 ha) site.