In an alarming attack on girls’ education, militants have bombed two girls’ schools in the Mir Ali sub-division of North Waziristan district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).
Fortunately, no lives were lost.
According to the details, the affected schools were located in the Musakki and Hassu Khel villages of the Mir Ali sub-division. The schools were targeted and destroyed by explosives on Sunday night.
Read more: Seven teachers brutally shot dead in KP school
The building of the school has been damaged. Pictures on social media show that the physical damage to the school buildings is extensive, however, no casualties were reported.
The police responded to the scene and initiated an investigation. Cases against terrorist acts are being registered under the Anti-Terrorism Act.
ALERT: Two girls schools were considerably damaged when militants blew up a portion of the buildings by planting bombs in the building. The Government Girls Middle School in Hasukhel and another Girls Middle School in Musaqi were damaged last night In Mir Ali, North Waziristan… pic.twitter.com/kunzwbrBLo
— The Khorasan Diary (@khorasandiary) May 22, 2023
The bombings on the girls’ schools in North Waziristan have caused outrage and condemnation from local authorities, community leaders, and citizens alike as they raise concern over the increasing terror incidents in KP and the frequent attacks on educational institutes.
WPC vehemently condemns the despicable act of extremists, who cowardly targeted two girls’ schools in North Waziristan. This horrifying incident underscores the ongoing struggle for girls’ education in Pakistan, where equal access to education remains an urgent concern. pic.twitter.com/w3vV1RDQZx
— Women's Parliamentary Caucus Pakistan (@wpc_pak) May 22, 2023
The targeting of girls’ schools signifies a disturbing shift in the wave of terrorism is again focused on keeping girls away from schools, a spill over of ideology of Afghan de facto authorities. This is extremely worrying and will ouch region back by couple of decades. https://t.co/Fuxy7jRK9y
— 𝐒𝐔𝐇𝐀𝐈𝐋 𝐀𝐖𝐀𝐍 (@suhailawan) May 22, 2023
Last night two girls schools were attached and damaged by militants in North Waziristan. The last such incident was reported 6 years ago in 2018. https://t.co/klnPFotJuz
— Iftikhar Firdous (@IftikharFirdous) May 22, 2023
Taliban exploding girl’s schools in North Waziristan for blocking education. It’s part of the sinister design for colonising Afghans/Pashtuns on both sides of the Durand Line. Pakistani state as creator/patron of Taliban cannot absolve itself from the responsibility. https://t.co/44uGSEVsAy
— Afrasiab Khattak (@a_siab) May 22, 2023
Two Girl Schools in North Waziristan Mirali were blown up by unidentified miscreants on May 21st.police said
Over 500 hundred girls are again school less.
can we expect the authorities concerned to assure further attacks on Book and Pen??? pic.twitter.com/ZtaJSFclWk— Umar Wazir (@umar_wazir) May 22, 2023
Fear has gripped the region, particularly fear among parents & female school teachers. They fear the full-scale return of violence n their area following the recent attacks. Over a million people were displace following a massive anti-Taliban operation in Waziristan in 2014 – End
— Daud Khattak (@DaudKhattak1) May 22, 2023
This was the latest incident of violence against educational institutions in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Earlier this month, six schoolteachers were killed in a shooting at a school in the Kurram district of KP shortly after another teacher was gunned down in a drive-by shooting in the upper Kurram area.
Terror attacks in Pakistani educational institutes
Terror attacks on educational institutes in Pakistan have sadly been a recurring and devastating occurrence. Extremist groups have targeted schools, colleges, and universities in various regions of the country, particularly in conflict-ridden areas such as KP, Balochistan, and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).
One of the deadliest school shootings in Pakistan occurred in December 2014, when Taliban militants attacked the Army Public School in Peshawar, killing at least 145 people, including 132 children. The attack shocked the country and led to increased security measures at schools.
Since then, there have been several other similar attacks in Pakistan, including an attack on Bacha Khan University in January 2016 that killed at least 20 people, and a shooting at a government school in August 2016 that left two teachers dead.
Read more: How to address the menace of terrorism in Pakistan