Blast damages girls’ school in Peshawar
PESHAWAR: Suspected militants blew up a portion of a government-run high school for girls at Landi Arbab village here on Monday.
The blast damaged the office, smashed windowpanes of rooms, main gate and a wall of the school. It also damaged the nearby houses of a local resident, Irfan, and an Afghan national, Gul Mohammad Khan. However, no loss of life was reported.
The school is located at a roadway in the main population connecting Landi Arbab to Gulberg and Charkhakhel areas near Peshawar Cantonment.
During a visit to the blast site the watchman, Asmatullah Khan, told Dawn that he was inside the building when a huge blast occurred at about 1.30am. “Soon after the blast I came out but it was totally dark and the smokes were hovering and no one was visible, however, people residing in the area started crying,” he said.
He said that it was the third attempt of its kind as the first blast had occurred in December 2009, followed by another one in March this year but the government failed to take concrete measures for the safety of the building.
“All the three sides of the school are safe due to its location in the main population but the rear side is insecure as there is drain,” he said.
The watchman said that it was decided in a meeting of the Parents Teachers Association to reconstruct the sidewall for further securing the school but the officials concerned did not pay attention to it.
About 715 students from far away villages like Achar Kallay, Bahadur Kallay, Garhi Durrani, Garhi Malik Ahmed, Charkha Khel, Char Khana, Amee Colony and Manakrao are enrolled in the two-storey school.
An eyewitness Irfan, who lives just opposite to the school, said that the blast had damaged upper potion of his house. In the area, he said, most of the residents were poor. He said that government should take effective protection measures for safety of the school so that the area people would not suffer.
Tariq Niaz, a police official at the blast site, said that about one and a half kilogram explosive had been used in the blast.
He said that a case had been registered against unidentified terrorists and efforts were being made to arrest the suspected people. He said so far no one had been arrested in this regard.
Source: Dawn
Date:9/7/2010
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