BANNU – Miscreants set a girls’ school on fire in Meryan Tehsil of district Bannu on Friday night amidst escalating militancy in the tribal region.
The targeted Government Girls Higher Secondary School in Kotka Mumbati Barakzai suffered severe damage, especially the science lab reduced to ashes. The assailants not only stole solar panels and various items but also vandalized the school’s boundary wall. They left threatening graffiti near the main gate, cautioning of further assaults if classes were to resume.
District Police Officer Iftikhar Khan mentioned that an investigation was initiated after police officials gathered evidence from the scene. Schools in the district are presently closed for the winter break. This incident marks the first school arson in Bannu following increased militant attacks after the government ended its ceasefire with the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan last year.
While this occurrence is the latest in a string of attacks, it’s not the first targeting girls’ education in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa this year. In May 2023, terrorists destroyed two girls’ schools in the North Waziristan district.
The assault follows Islamabad’s response to a surge in attacks, including a destructive mosque bombing that claimed over 100 lives in February this year, prompting a renewed offensive against terrorists. The region historically faced bans on female education under the TTP’s control, particularly in the province’s northwestern areas.
