No one was harmed in the attack, but it caused significant damage to the structure.
Suspected Islamic militants targeted a girls' school in Shawa, a town in the volatile North Waziristan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which borders Afghanistan. The attack occurred on Wednesday night, targeting the only school for girls in the area.
Local police chief Amjad Wazir described the attackers' use of an explosive device to destroy the Aafia Islamic Girls Model School, where 150 girls were enrolled. He also mentioned the assault on the school guard by the insurgents, who later fled the scene.
While no group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, suspicion falls heavily on Islamic militants. Over the past years, they have repeatedly targeted girls' schools in the province, driven by the belief that women should not receive an education.
UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Fund, swiftly condemned the attack, labeling it a "despicable and cowardly act" that could jeopardize the future of young and gifted girls. Abdullah Fadil, UNICEF's representative in Pakistan, emphasized the damaging impact on national progress.
His statement echoed Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's declaration of an education emergency on Wednesday. Sharif pledged to address the issue of 26 million out-of-school children in Pakistan.
Pakistan has endured numerous attacks on girls' schools, particularly in the northwestern Swat Valley and elsewhere in the northwest. These regions were once controlled by the Pakistani Taliban, who held sway over the former tribal areas for years. In 2012, the insurgents targeted Malala Yousafzai, a young advocate for girls' education and subsequent Nobel Peace Prize winner.
While the Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), has been expelled from Swat and other regions in recent years, they maintain an alliance with the Afghan Taliban, who seized power in Afghanistan in 2021.
The attack on the girls' school in Shawa highlights the ongoing challenges and risks faced by female students in certain regions of Pakistan. It also underscores the importance of continued efforts to promote and protect education, particularly for girls, who often face disproportionate barriers.
