Terror-linked arson hits Bannu school

Unidentified miscreants perpetrated an alarming act of vandalism on Friday by setting ablaze school furniture valued at millions of rupees in a girls’ school located in the Bannu district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

Police told The Express Tribune armed men discreetly entered the Government Higher Secondary School Mambati in Miryan Tehsil of Bannu, where they not only ignited the furniture and other equipment but also made off with solar panels and a pressure pump before making a successful escape.

An official from the local police station described the severity of the incident, stating, “Armed men entered the school and set ablaze the science room in the girls’ higher secondary school, reducing furniture and laboratory equipment worth millions of rupees to ashes.” Additionally, the assailants left threatening sentences inscribed on the school’s main gate, claiming affiliation with the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and warning the school’s owner to shut it down, or face complete destruction in the future.

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The menacing slogans induced widespread panic among the students and their parents, as the school caters to 350 girls and is considered the largest education facility of its kind in the entire locality. Saleem Rehman, the former district Nazim and owner of the building, expressed dismay over the estimated Rs5 million worth of goods reduced to ashes in the fire.

He labeled the incident as an act of terrorism, given the claimed association with TTP, emphasizing that the staff room and laboratory bore the brunt of the destructive fire. Despite the presence of a guard within the school premises, the attackers overpowered him and compelled him to vacate the premises before carrying out their destructive act. District Police Officer Bannu, Iftikhar Khan, visited the school to assess the extent of the damage, inspecting the burnt laboratory and staff room. He announced that fingerprints had been collected, and an investigation team had been formed to delve into the motives and individuals behind this attack.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 30^th, 2023.