Pre-dawn blasts: Two girls schools blown up, mosque damaged

Locals term attack a conspiracy against region’s development.

GILGIT: Three  pre-dawn blasts occuring one after another destroyed two girls’ schools and partially damaged a mosque in Chilas in Gilgit-Baltistan on Saturday, government officials and local residents said. No loss of life was reported.

Chilas town is the headquarters of Diamer district and located 125 kilometres from Gilgit. Chilas is where the Diamer-Bhasha dam is under construction and there are reports that Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani will visit the area next month.

A senior administration official, talking to The Express Tribune, however, refused to speculate who could be involved in the attack. No one has claimed responsibility as yet.

“Three rooms of the Government Girls’ High School, Chilas, and two rooms of the Social Action Programme (SAP) School were damaged in two separate blasts,” said the official, adding that the boundary wall of a mosque was also partially damaged in a third blast.

Meanwhile, Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Minister Mehdi Shah told The Express Tribune that the attackers were trying to defame the region in an attempt to hinder development projects. “But we will not allow the recurrence of such acts,” he said. Shah didn’t rule out the chances that the attack could be a conspiracy against the Diamer-Bhasha dam, a project vital for Pakistan’s economy. Recently, India also raised objections on the dam’s construction, saying it was being built in a ‘disputed’ territory.

A delegation, including top clerics from Chilas, condemned the act saying it was a deliberate attempt to sabotage development projects in the valley. “This is nothing but a well-orchestrated conspiracy,” said PPP member Fidaullah.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 16^th,  2011.