MANSEHRA: The district administration and police have reclaimed a government girls’ primary school that the landowner had allegedly occupied and converted into a cattle pen since 2015 in the Jagir Dana area of Balakot.

“The school building was reconstructed in 2015 after it was flattened in the 2005 earthquake, while girls attended classes in a nearby rented building for over a decade,” Balakot DSP Mohammad Sohail told reporters on Friday.

He said the resident had donated the land for the school. “After this earthquake-resistant building was constructed in 2015, the landlord occupied it and converted it into a cattle pen,” Mr Sohail said. He said that the landlord demanded a job in the education department for vacating the building.

He said a team led by Balakot Assistant Commissioner Aftab Ahmad retrieved the building from the landowner and handed it over to the education department.

Girls were subsequently shifted from the rented premises to the building.

Published in Dawn, November 14th, 2026