Targeting Education: Girls school blown up in Shabqadar

SHABQADAR: A middle school for girls in Sro Kallay Kodai was blown up by unidentified militants, confirmed police official Wilayat Khan on Friday. According to Wilayat, explosives placed in the school went off around midnight on Thursday, destroying two rooms and the front verandah. Police cordoned off the area and launched a search operation soon after the incident, but no suspects were arrested till the filing of this report. According to the bomb disposal unit, the explosives weighed 10 kilogrammes. The area borders Mohmand Agency, where nearly every school has been damaged in the wave of militancy since 2008. More than 25 schools of Mohmand Agency and Charsadda district have been destroyed in the said period. As a result, parents of students are apprehensive of sending their children to school whereas teachers are also reluctant to attend classes.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 15^th, 2014.