It 's the latest cruel tactic in the Pakistani Taliban 's battle to stop girls and women from getting an education : acid thrown in their faces to scar them for life and deter others from following in their footsteps . A doctor who treated the victims of an acid attack on a college van in the city of Parachinar in northern Pakistan last month told CNN that two girls had been left with severe burns to their faces . The Pakistani Taliban have taken responsibility for the attack in threatening pamphlets distributed around the city . They also warn local girls against going to school , Dr. Shaban Ali said . `` We will never allow the girls of this area to go and get a Western education , '' said Qari Muhavia , the local Pakistani Taliban leader , when contacted by CNN by telephone . Who are the Pakistani Taliban ? `` If and when we find any girl from Parachinar going to university for an education we will target her ( in ) the same way , so that she might not be able to unveil her face before others , '' Muhavia said . The Pakistani Taiban 's violent campaign to stop girls from getting an education was brought to international attention early last month when gunmen in the Swat Valley attacked another van , this time carrying schoolgirl education activist Malala Yousufzai . She is in a British hospital recovering from a gunshot to the head . Shahab Uddin , a local government official from Kurram Agency in Pakistan 's northern tribal belt , said the acid attack was the latest method used to terrorize young girls and deter them from going to school . Fifteen students , boys and girls , from Kohat University were on their way home to Parachinar when unknown `` extremists '' stopped the vehicle and threw acid at the girls and shot one of the boys , according to Uddin . Two girls , Zahida and Nabila , and one more boy had suffered burns , Uddin said , while Mohammad Ali , a fourth boy , was the student who was shot . `` After throwing acid on the students the assailants opened fire on the van , '' Uddin said . He said the girls who were targeted `` are alive and out of danger now , but their faces are badly scarred . '' Ali , of the district headquarters hospital , confirmed that four students were brought into the emergency room for treatment , three with acid burns and one with a bullet wound . `` We are all graduate students studying in the master 's program , and we were coming back home after taking our exams , '' one of the girls who was targeted told CNN under condition of anonymity . `` We do n't know who the attackers were , but when our vehicle reached Doranai they stopped us and threw acid on our faces ... now we are scared of going back to our studies , '' said another girl , who also asked not to be named because she did n't have permission from her family to speak . Malala is face of global attacks on schools . `` Other passengers who were sitting in the vehicle were also wounded , but they were not as serious as Zahida and Nabila , '' she said . Acid throwing is frequently used as a weapon in Pakistan to punish women for acts that allegedly bring dishonor to the family , or just to enact revenge . Another recent acid attack in Pakistan resulted in the death of a 15-year-old girl , Anwasha . She was allegedly attacked by her parents for engaging in illicit relations with a boy , according to Tahir Ayub , a senior police official . The 15-year-old girl suffered severe burns on her face and chest , but her parents initially refused to get her medical help , Ayub said . She was eventually taken to a hospital a day later and died from her injuries . `` Her father said she was n't coming to her senses so the parents threw acid on her to save their honor , '' Ayub told CNN . Anwasha 's mother claimed she had seen the boy and girl secretly meet and had seen her frequently speaking on a cell phone , Ayub said . The parents , who live in a suburban village outside the Kashmiri city of Muzaffarabad , are in police custody , Ayub said . The Taliban in Afghanistan also have used acid attacks against girls to discourage them from going to school . The victims are left to cope with a disfigurement that is shameful in their culture and is likely to impact their ability to have a husband and family . Pakistan to honor girls injured in Malala attack .
Two girls are left with severe burns to their faces after an acid attack on a college van . The Pakistani Taliban say any girl without an education will be killed in the same way . A boy is also shot in the attack by ` ` extremists , '' a local newspaper says . Acid attacks have been used in Pakistan to target women for alleged dishonor .