PESHAWAR: A grenade blast took place at the main gate of Government School Number One in Bannu on Monday, leaving one student injured.

The police say that the blast occurred when the detonator of a hand grenade, which was brought to school by a student in class nine, exploded in his bag. The student has been arrested and is being interrogated by the Station House officer (SHO) at the City Police Station.

The SHO said that the student has been taken into custody for interrogation and medical treatment as well.

He further said that the family of the boy will also be interrogated to investigate whether he had brought the hand grenade with an intention to carry out criminal activity or other reasons.

The Zarb-i-Azb military operation, which was launched against militants in North Waziristan on June 18, is taking a heavy toll on children of other Fata agencies, too, where schools and other education institutions have been closed for indefinite period for security reasons.

Read more: Conflict takes a heavy toll on N Waziristan education sector

Like other tribal areas, education sector of North Waziristan is in shambles due to militancy. Many educational institutions have been occupied either by militants or by security forces. Among them is the Cadet College of Razmak, which is now a military base.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has announced to provide admissions to the displaced students in colleges and other professional institutions. Every displaced student will also receive Rs. 2,000 monthly stipend, minister for higher education Mushtaq Ahmad Ghani had stated in Bannu.