PPP Sherry Condemns South Waziristan School Attack

News Desk 

Islamabad: PPP Senior Leader Sherry Rehman has strongly condemned the attack on the girls’ school in South Waziristan.

In a tweet on Saturday, she stated, “I strongly condemn the attack on the girls’ school in South Waziristan. Although no injuries were reported, this incident is a renewed assault on girls’ education and the state.”

She emphasized, “The militants’ aim is to strip our girls of the right to an education, creating barriers for their future empowerment. The provincial government must ensure the safety of educational institutions in these areas and take decisive action against those who oppose girls’ education, which is a fundamental and constitutional right.”

“We saw a surge of such attacks in the past. They must not be allowed to attain momentum or mass,” the PPP senior leader further added. 

Girls’ School Attacked

Suspected militants have detonated explosives at another girls’ school in a former stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, according to police and residents on Friday.

This incident, occurring in the South Waziristan district bordering Afghanistan, marks the second attack this month following significant damage to another school in the region, as reported by district police spokesman.

The overnight assault resulted in damage to one room of the school, with fortunately no injuries reported. 

“A loud explosion was heard during the night, and upon investigation in the morning, police discovered that a newly constructed girls’ school in Karikot, a village near the district headquarters of Wana City, had been damaged,” as Arab News reported.

While no group has claimed responsibility for the bombing, suspicion naturally falls on the Pakistani Taliban, who have previously targeted girls’ schools in the province. A police officer from Wana noted that the management of the affected school had received numerous threats in the past.

Last May, two girls’ schools were similarly targeted in the Mir Ali area of North Waziristan.

Pakistan has experienced numerous attacks on girls’ schools up until 2019, particularly in the Swat Valley and other parts of the northwest, where the Pakistani Taliban held sway over the former tribal regions.

In 2012, the insurgents targeted Malala Yousafzai, a teenage student and advocate for girls’ education, who later went on to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.

The additional input from Arab News.