ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday ordered immediate reconstruction of a girls’ school blown up by militants in North Waziristan.

The private girls’ school was blown up by unidentified militants in Tehsil Shewa of North Waziristan district on Wednesday night, media reports quoting local police said.

They said the militants had first tortured the school watchman and later blew up two rooms of the school building.

Local sources said it was the only private girls’ sch­ool in the area and its admi­nistration had received mul­tiple threat letters in the past.

As education became a provincial subject after the 18th constitutional amen­dment and the PTI-led provincial government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa not having a good working relations with the federal government, therefore, it is believed that the provincial government would not abide by the PM’s orders.

The prime minister condemned the attack in the strongest possible terms and ordered the authorities concerned to immediately identify the attackers and ens­ure they received “exemplary punishment”, according to an official press release issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) on Friday.

He ordered the authorities concerned to rebuild the damaged portion of the school on government’s expense.

PM Shehbaz said the government would “make sure that terrorists get their comeuppance” for trying to deprive girls of their right to education.

“We will never let them succeed in their nefarious designs,” the statement quoted the prime minister as saying.

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 active role in the development of the country.

Published in Dawn, May 11th, 2024