Police on Thursday ruled out terrorism in the recent girls’ school blaze that set Diamer on edge, a senior police official said.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Sher Khan told Dawn.com that based on the preliminary investigation, the fire in the school was not an act of terrorism.

He further said that a security guard of the Girls’ Middle School had been taken into custody and the investigation was being conducted “from various angles”.

While the incident was initially being treated as a case of terrorism, there are now indications that it could have been a single individual rather than a terrorist, Khan added.

As the school building is located far from settlements, walls merely “five to six-feet high”, and classrooms unlocked, he raised the possibility that a few youngsters could have gathered there.

According to SSP Khan, this indicated the possibility of the fire spreading due to the unidentified youngsters’ “careless behaviour when lighting a fire or smoking”.

He further said that the doors and windows in Diamer are made of Diyar wood which “catches fire faster than petrol”.

The Diamer SSP said that the security guard told investigators that he was taken away from the school by “unknown miscreants”, who then set it on fire.

However, the guard’s statement turned out to be false as on the day of the incident, he had spent the night at his in-laws’ house, located in a village far from the school.

Moreover, Khan also highlighted the fact that militants would have claimed responsibility for the incident as they did in 2018 when 12 schools were burned.

“Instead, local militants have expressed on social media that they are not related to the incident,” he stated.

He further said that the incident could be a case of personal vendetta or a coincidence.

According to SSP Khan, only the security guard has been arrested till now.

Regarding the 2018 incident, he said that the 16 people who were taken into custody were released due to a lack of witnesses against them.