LAKKI MARWAT: Suspected militants torched a government higher secondary school for girls in Kotka Mambati Barakzai area of Bannu on Thursday night.

A police official said the school was located in Miryan tehsil. He added the attackers set the science lab and equipment dumped there on fire.

The official said the laboratory and staffroom along with furniture and other objects were destroyed. He added the militants also took away the solar power system and other goods with them, leaving behind a note affixed to the school gate, warning of dire consequences if it was opened.

Schools in the area are closed for winter vacation.

It is the first school having been set ablaze in the district since the surge in militant attacks when a ceasefire between the government and outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan ended last year.

Following the incident, the police reached the school and collected evidence from the site, the official said, adding investigations were underway to trace the attackers.

Published in Dawn, December 30th, 2023