THE father of a Pakistani teenager killed after tackling a suicide bomber has hailed his son for saving "hundreds'' of lives through his bravery.

Local police official Raheem Khan said Thursday that 17-year-old Aitzaz Hasan died on Monday in a remote village in Hangu, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

A teacher at the school told investigators that he saw Hasan chasing the attacker and then saw the attacker detonate the bomb that killed the teen, Mr Khan said.

Pakistani media reported that Hasan was late for school and that's why he was outside when the attacker approached the building.

Police official Shakirullah Bangash said that Aitzaz intercepted the bomber some 150 metres away from the main gate of the school, which has around 1000 students, most of them Shiite.

The schoolchildren were the target of the attack, he added.

The English-language Express Tribune newspaper reported that Hasan's father, Mujahid Ali, 55, was living and working in the United Arab Emirates when the attack occurred. Many men in the impoverished region are forced to move abroad, especially to the Gulf, to provide for their families.

Mr Ali told the newspaper that he had returned not to mourn his son but to celebrate his life.

"My son made his mother cry, but saved hundreds of mothers from crying for their children,'' he told the newspaper.

"Aitzaz has made us proud by valiantly intercepting the bomber and saving the lives of hundreds of his fellow students,'' he said. "I am happy that my son has become a martyr by sacrificing his life for a noble cause.''

Mr Bangash was only able to reach Ibrahimzai village, which lies in an area of Hangu dominated by minority Shiite Muslims, the day after his son's funeral.

"Many people are coming to see me but if they try to express sympathy, I tell them to congratulate me instead on becoming the father of a martyr,'' he said.

"I will be even more than happy if my second son also sacrifices his life for the country.''

Local resident Miqdar Khan said people in the district were hailing the teen as a hero, and hundreds of people attended his funeral to pay their respects. He said the teenager was known for openly criticizing militants.

"Aitzaz Hasan used to tell all that one day he would capture some suicide bomber, and his class fellows used to laugh,'' he said.

"But this boy proved what he said, and I am sad that he left us too early.''

Suicide bombings and killings have become an everyday fact of life in many parts of Pakistan.

A study by the Islamabad-based Pak Institute for Peace Studies found that terrorist attacks in 2013 increased by nine per cent over the previous year while the number of people killed in such incidents jumped by 19 per cent. The number of suicide attacks climbed by 39 per cent in the same period, the report found.

In the face of such unremitting violence the image of a teenager giving his life to save his classmates captured the imagination of many in Pakistan.

Hasan's death led to an outpouring of emotion on television and on social media, where the hashtag (hash)onemillionaitzazs quickly became a favourite among Twitter users.

Pakistan's former ambassador to the United States, Sherry Rehman, tweeted that Hasan should be given a medal: "Another young one with heartstopping courage.''

Hassan's cousin Mudassir Bangash described him as an accomplished student who excelled in all extracurricular activities.

"Aitzaz was a little plump and we used to call him pehlwan (wrestler),'' he said.

"My cousin wanted to become a doctor but it was not God's will.''

Chaudhry Mohammed Sarwar, the governor of the eastern Punjab province, told Pakistan's Dunya news channel that Hasan should be honored.

"He is the hero of the whole nation as he has saved many lives by giving his own life,'' Gov. Sarwar said.

Hangu borders Orakzai tribal region, one of Pakistan's seven lawless tribal districts on the Afghan border considered to be the hub of Taliban and Al-Qaeda linked militants.

The district has a history of sectarian violence and was declared a "sensitive region'' during the month of Moharram, considered especially holy by Shiites.

Pakistan is rife with sectarian clashes, with Sunni militant groups linked to Al-Qaida and the Taliban often attacking gatherings by Shiites, who constitute some 20 per cent of the country's population.

