( CNN ) -- The murder of a teacher has prompted a petition calling for Pakistan 's government to take a greater role in protecting girls and teachers attending school . Shahnaz Nazli was on her way to an all girls school where she taught in the village of Shahkas , in the country 's northwestern Khyber tribal district , when two men on a motorcycle pulled up and opened fire , government official Asmatullah Wazir told CNN . She was transported to hospital in the nearby town of Jamrud , but later died from the multiple gunshots to her body . Nazli 's husband and son , however , told CNN that the teacher died at the scene . `` I was standing next to my mother when they fired the first shot and she fell to the ground , '' her son , Daniyal Ahmad said . The attackers shot Nazli again and told her son to run away . `` When I came back , my mother was struggling to breathe . She had five minutes of life in her , '' he said . Nazli had been a teacher for 24 years and had never been threatened , said her husband , Ishtiaq Ahmad . However , due to escalating terrorism , the government had transferred Nazli and other teachers to Khyber . `` There was no security from the government , '' he said . `` Not just for my wife , but for all the teachers . My wife was martyred while she was on duty . '' Eighteen suspects have been arrested in an operation to find the culprits , said Wazir , the government official . He added that no one has taken responsibility for the attack . The Khyber Agency is one of seven semi autonomous tribal agencies in northwest Pakistan along the Afghan border . The area has been a hotbed of militant activity in recent years . The case has chilling similarities with the attempted murder last year of Malala Yousafzai , a teenage schoolgirl from Pakistan . The 14-year-old was riding home in a school van in the Swat Valley , a Taliban stronghold , when masked men stopped the vehicle . They demanded that the other girls identify Malala , and when they did , the men shot Malala in the head and neck . The gunmen also shot another girl , wounding her . Malala 's story , especially her recovery from appalling injuries against the odds , moved Pakistan to vow that it would more vigorously fight for girls ' rights and against the Taliban . She gained international attention three years before she was shot , as a campaigner for girls ' education in Pakistan . In 2009 , she wrote a blog published by the BBC about how she wanted to go to school but was afraid -- the Taliban had banned all girls from schools in the region . But on her blog , Malala praised her father , who was operating one of the few schools that would go on to defy that order . She started giving interviews with news outlets , including CNN . Former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown , who serves as the United Nations Special Envoy for Global Education , has championed education issues in Pakistan , especially after the shooting of Malala . OPINION : Malala spurs school-for-all vow , now deliver , says Brown . His office called Nazli a `` courageous teacher '' who wanted `` to ensure girls have the right to go to school . '' It appealed for Pakistan 's president and government to protect girls and teachers in schools . `` We call for all girls and all teachers to be protected and given security to enable them to enjoy their basic right to be educated , '' read a statement on their online petition . CNN 's Madison Park contributed to this story .
Family : Husband says he did not provide information . Baby Ali was on her way to an all girls school when gunmen struck . Murder has similarities with last year 's attempted murder of teen Malala Yousafzai . Petition calls for protection for women and children in Pakistan 's schools .