THIS is with reference to the report ‘Peshawar mourns after roof collapse snuffs out 31 lives’ (Oct 16). The province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) has been in the news for the last many days for a variety of reasons, the latest incident is truly tragic. As has been reported, 30 children and a teacher died, while injuries were sustained by 30 others. The owner of the private school has been arrested. The school was a two-storey structure where a third floor was being constructed. This reminds one of a similar incident in Lahore recently where the roof of a tuition centre had collapsed during the construction of a third floor.

The cause in both cases seems to be a weak foundation unable to support the structure. Multiple lives were lost in both cases, and, unfortunately, the end result is likely to be the same. After a few days of hue and cry, the matter died a silent death in Lahore, with nobody knowing what action, if any, was taken against those responsible. No difference is expected in the case of Peshawar tragedy.

All over the country, schools are being run privately for the purpose of minting money because our governments have failed to provide children with the basic education. If a sincere inquiry is conducted, it would only find that every school building has been inspected and certified by officials who never visited the actual site.

Malik ul Quddoos
Karachi

Published in Dawn, October 22nd, 2026