12 schools burnt down overnight in Gilgit-Baltistan's Diamer district
August 03, 2018
Unidentified assailants burned down at least 12 schools in Gilgit-Baltistan's Diamer district late on Thursday night and fled, causing panic among residents, locals and police said.
Gilgit Baltistan area, close to the Cheeni border, is mostly Shia populated . The people of the area, predominantly are followers of the Ismaili Aga Khan. They are relatively liberal in their outlook and encourage education of girls . There is a tussle between the hard line sunnis and the shias !Superintendent Police (SP) Diamer Roy Ajmal told Dawn that police had so far received information that 12 schools ─ at least half of which are girls-only schools ─ had been set on fire overnight. He said that in some cases, books had also been thrown outside the schools and set alight.Local police officer Mohammad Bashir said the attacks on schools took place before dawn on Friday near Chilas, but there were no casualties as the schools were closed at the time.Police teams have been dispatched to investigate the reports, SP Ajmal said, adding that no one has claimed responsibility for the incidents as yet.
The schools, which are spread across Diamer, were identified as:...
Imran's "Naya Pakistan" is the answerCommissioner of Diamer, Syed Abdul Waheed Shah, told DawnNewsTV no arrests have been made so far. He said police were investigating the incident and a first information report (FIR) would be registered.The commissioner revealed that attempts were made to blow up two schools using explosives, while 11 schools were set on fire.There are no Taliban militants in the area, however, extremists who oppose female education are present, Shah disclosed.This is the not the first time schools have come under attack in Diamer. Girls' schools, in particular, were targeted, allegedly by extremists, in 2004 and 2011.
Diamer is the lowest-ranking district in terms of quality of education in GB, with a score of 36.37, and among the 10 lowest-ranking districts in Pakistan.There are 244 government schools in the district, about 83 per cent of which are primary level, 10.6pc middle schools and 6pc high schools. There are no higher secondary schools in the district. Of the total number of government schools, 156 are boys schools, while 88 are girls schools, according to Alif Ailaan.Of the 16,800 students enrolled in government schools, only 20pc or 3,479 are girls.