Four Girls' Schools In Pakistan Attacked In One Month; Who Is Responsible?

In just one month, Pakistan witnessed four girls' schools in the country's western region being bombed or set on fire. The last attack was on May 29, when a group of unidentified armed men attempted to set fire to a school in Surab district of Kalat division. The unidentified attackers led the overnight attack and escaped before police arrived. The authorities put out the fire with the help of local administration. The police have started an investigation and a case under terrorism laws has been registered against the unknown miscreants.

Pakistan Girls School Attacks

Numerous girls' schools in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were attacked in May 2024 by unidentified armed men, who are reportedly suspected Pakistani Taliban militants. According to the Associated Press, authorities had earlier suspected militants who had targeted girls’ schools years ago saying that women should not be educated. 

On May 27, a group of armed men led an overnight attack on a girls' school in Shakhimar village of Razmak tehsil, destroying the furniture, computers and books. The police arrested a former teacher for his alleged involvement. According to Dawn, a group of unknown attackers had also destroyed the school’s solar power system in March.

According to the outlet, the previous attack was on May 17, when unidentified terrorists bombed an under-construction girls’ private school in Lower South Waziristan. The first attack on a school in May was on May 9, when terrorists set a girls’ private school in the Shawa area of South Waziristan on fire.

North Waziristan is a former stronghold of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (Pakistani Taliban). It is a close ally of the Afghan Taliban, who seized power in neighbouring Afghanistan in 2021, taking away the freedom and education rights of women. Reports state that this takeover in Afghanistan has emboldened the Pakistani Taliban.

Demand For Action

Dawn reported that the Pakistan Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training reportedly wrote a letter to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, urging prompt action. It read, "It is particularly disheartening to note that these heinous acts of terrorism are disproportionately targeting institutions dedicated to girls’ education."

The letter added, "The federal government is deeply alarmed by these developments, which not only endanger the lives of our children but also threaten the progress we have made in promoting education and gender equality in these regions."

The Ministry added that these actions were “an attack on the future of the nation."