12 Schools Burnt Down in PoK; Malala, Imran Condemn Incident

The schools were burnt down late on Friday by unidentified assailants in coordinated attacks in Gilgit-Baltistan.

12 schools, including only-girls schools, were set on fire and books were also thrown out and torched.

(Photo: ANI)

Youngest ever Nobel laureate and education activist Malala Yousafzai has strongly condemned the burning down of 12 schools, half of them all-girls, in Pakistan occupied Kashmir, saying the "extremists" have shown that a "girl with a book" frightens them the most.

The schools were burnt down late on Friday, 3 August by unidentified assailants in coordinated attacks in PoK’s Gilgit-Baltistan, triggering protest by local residents who sought safety for educational institutions.

Ten suspects have been arrested so far. Gilgit Biltistan government spokesman Faizullah Firaq said the suspects are being interrogated at Darul Tangeer police station.

Malala called for the rebuilding of the damaged schools in Chilas town, about 130-kilometre from Gilgit.

Imran Khan, who is set to become Pakistan's new Prime Minister, also condemned the attack, terming it an "unacceptable" act.

Malala, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014, was shot by the Taliban in 2012 for promoting girls' education in the Swat Valley in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The attack on schools took place near Chilas before dawn on Friday, however, no casualties were reported as the schools were closed when the attack took place.

Meanwhile, Chief Secretary Gilgit Baltistan Babar Hayat Tarar visited the schools on Saturday and directed the officials to repair the buildings.

Girls' schools are often attacked in the northern areas of PoK. In December 2011, at least two girls' schools were partially damaged in low-intensity explosions in Chilas.

Earlier that year, unidentified assailants had also blown up two girls' schools.

In 2004, girls' schools in Chilas came under a string of attacks. Nine schools of which eight were girls' schools were attacked and destroyed in five days in the area in February.

Terrorists have also blown up educational institutions in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).

According to a report, about 1,500 schools have been destroyed in the tribal belt during the last 10 years.

In 2017, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) in its report stated that attacks by the Taliban and other militant groups disrupted the education of hundreds of thousands of children, particularly girls, in PoK.