A group of militants used kerosine to set fire to a girls' school in a former Pakistani Taliban stronghold, destroying furniture, computers and books, police said Wednesday, in the latest in a surge in such attacks. No one was hurt in the overnight attack in North Waziristan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, local police official Rehmat Ullah said. Two other girls' schools in the region were bombed earlier this month.
No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks, but authorities suspect Islamic militants, who targeted girls' schools years ago, saying that women should not be educated. North Waziristan is a former stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban, who are also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. It is a separate group but a close ally of the Afghan Taliban, who seized power in neighbouring Afghanistan in 2021. The Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan has emboldened the Pakistani Taliban.
Earlier on Monday, a girls' school, with more than 1,400 students inside, caught fire in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s (KP) Haripur district, DawnNewsTV reported. According to the report, more than 1,000 female students were inside the Government Girls' High Secondary School Sirikot when the fire started. According to the latest development, all students were rescued safely from the school.
Although an official statement regarding the cause of the incident was yet to come, Rashid, a parent of a student at the school, revealed that his daughter was present in the classroom where the fire originated. According to him, the fire was seemingly initiated by sparks originating from the roof, suggesting a potential short circuit.
Footage captured on mobile phones depicted massive clouds of smoke billowing from the school premises, with debris from charred roofs descending as flames raged within. Additionally, numerous local residents could be observed gathered outside the school.
Also Read: Pakistan: Govt girls's school catches massive fire, over 1,400 inside campus evacuated I VIDEO
