Yet another Waziristan girls’ school bombed

No casualties reported in the attack, education minister calls for investigation

MIRANSHAH:

A girls’ middle school was destroyed in the Zeraki village of North Waziristan In Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) after a late night bomb attack on the educational facility.

Unidentified assailants targeted the premises in the early hours of Monday morning in the Mir Ali district, leaving the building in a state of ruin. Luckily, police reports confirmed that no casualties had been reported as a result of the incident as the school was empty at such an hour.

Law enforcement officials launched a thorough investigation in a bid to apprehend the culprits, while security measures had also been increased to prevent further attacks of this nature. It was reported from the region that community leaders were extending their cooperation with law enforcement to maintain peace in the region.

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Education Minister Faisal Khan Tarakai said that attacks such as the one on North Waziristan’s Fazal Elahi Zirki Mir Ali Government Girls Middle School would not deter the government resolve to promote women’s education. He continued that unidentified militants blew up the school at around midnight.

Tarakai revealed that the Education Directorate and deputy commissioner concerned had been ordered to investigate the incident. He assured that all resources would be pooled in to ensure that the school soon returns to complete functionality soon.

In his statement, the minister outlined that special attention was being paid to educational facilities in the merged districts. “We are not discouraged by such incidents. The series of educational reforms will continue.”

He concluded that women’s education was at the very top of the K-P government’s priority list and there would be no compromise on the subject.

Condemnation poured in from other sources, all taking a stand for girls’ education. "The forces that banned girls' education in Afghanistan are extending their darkness in our areas,” bemoaned former North Waziristan MNA Mohsin Dawar.

In May this year, unidentified miscreants set fire to yet another girls’ school in Razmak area of North Waziristan. They torched the school in Tehsil Razmak Tuesday night without inviting any attention.

At the time, local residents revealed that the miscreants entered the building of Golden Arrow Public School in Shakhimar village and set fire to it before escaping. School furniture, the ceiling, computers, books, educational certificates and other equipment were reduced to ashes.