Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday ordered the immediate reconstruction of a girls’ school which was recently blown up in North Waziristan.

A private girls’ school was blown up by unidentified militants in Tehsil Shewa of North Waziristan district on Wednesday night, according to police sources.

They said the militants had first tortured the school watchman and later blew up two rooms in the building. Local sources had said that it was the only private girls’ school in the area and its administration had received multiple threat letters in the past.

Condemning the attack in the strongest possible terms in a statement, the prime minister ordered authorities to immediately identify the alleged attackers and ensure they received “exemplary punishment”.

He ordered the authorities to rebuild the damaged portion of the school at the government’s expense, further directing them to ensure the reconstruction was promptly completed.

PM Shehbaz said that the government would “make sure terrorists get their comeuppance” for trying to deprive girls of their right to an education. “We will never let them succeed in their nefarious designs,” the statement added.

The prime minister reiterated the government’s resolve to provide equal opportunities for education to all, including girls, with the goal of empowering them to play their role in the development of the country.

Similar attacks took place in May of last year when two government schools for girls in Mirali were blown up. No loss of life was reported in the incidents.

Around 500 girls were enrolled in the two schools — Government Girls Middle School, Noor Jannat and Government Girls Middle School, Yunus Kot — which were targeted by the attackers around midnight.