Girls’ Education Under Attack In Pakistan: Another School Blown Up In North Waziristan

The explosion damaged four out of seven rooms of a government-run school building, marking it the fifth girls' schools attacked this year.

Girls’ Education Under Attack In Pakistan: Another School Blown Up In North Waziristan

Militants demolished a portion of a government-operated girls’ school in Zairki village in North Waziristan by planting explosive material on the premises, police confirmed on Monday. The explosion collapsed four out of seven rooms of the school building. However, no loss of life has been reported. Meanwhile, no militant organization has taken responsibility for the attack so far.

Unidentified militants used a remote-controlled device to blow a school building on Sunday night, as per the police. 

This is not the first time girls’ schools have been attacked in 2024. In May, militants attacked four girls' schools in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, causing significant damage to the school buildings and spreading fear among parents of female students. On May 29, 2024, unknown armed men set fire to a middle school for girls in Killi Dhamb tehsil, Surab district, Balochistan. The attackers gutted the staff room and damaged other parts of the building. With no night guard on duty, the perpetrators escaped before police arrived. On May 28, 2024, five masked men set the Golden Arrow Girls Middle School in Shakhimar village of Razmak tehsil in North Waziristan on fire. The blaze destroyed furniture, equipment, and other facilities. Faridullah, a former teacher previously banned from the school, was arrested for his alleged involvement in the arson attack. On May 9, 2024, militants planted explosives in the Afia Islamic Girls Public School in Drozanda tehsil, Shewa, North Waziristan, causing significant damage. No casualties were reported. The school, the only functioning girls' school in the area, was rebuilt and reopened on May 20, 2024, by order of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

On May 17, 2024, unidentified terrorists bombed an under-construction private girls' school in Lower South Waziristan district, KP.

As per estimates, approximately 1,600 schools have been destroyed in the tribal belt during the last ten years.