PESHAWAR: Two girls' schools in Pakistan’s northwestern North Waziristan district were blown up late on Sunday night, a senior police official said on Monday, as Islamabad has declared a new offensive against militants following a resurgence of attacks, including a mosque bombing that killed more than 100 people in February.
No group has as yet taken responsibility for the explosions, District Police Officer Saleem Riaz told Arab News, though the Pakistani Taliban, or TTP, have been behind most attacks against the state that have become more frequent since last November when the group revoked a ceasefire and peace talks with the government in Islamabad collapsed.
“This is a militant act,” Riaz said, adding that no one was hurt in the attacks as they took place late at night. He said police cases in the incidents would be filed under anti-terrorism laws.
In the past, Pakistani Taliban militants had banned female education in parts of northwest Pakistan that they ruled. Most militant strongholds have, however, been cleared since the Pakistan army launched Operation Zarb-e-Azb in June 2014 in North Waziristan along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border as a renewed effort against militancy following an attack on a main airport in Karachi. The overall security situation across the country remained stable for many years following the operation, with most militant leaders and fighters fleeing to neighboring Afghanistan, but attacks have picked up since late last year.
On Monday, Deputy Commissioner of North Waziristan, Rehan Gul Khattak, confirmed to Arab News that two girls' schools in the Mir Ali subdivision of North Waziristan had been blown up on the night of May 21.
“Two government girls’ middle schools were destroyed with explosives by unknown miscreants and perpetrators,” a report by the district administration seen by Arab News said, adding that the attacks took place between 10-11pm on Sunday night.
“The Government Girls Middle School, Younus Kot, Hassu Khel was the first [to be blown up]. A three-room portion of the school has been completely destroyed and four walls have been damaged,” the report said.
“20-25 minutes later, an explosive occurred at the Government Girls Middle School, Noor Jannat Gul Kot, Mossaki, due to which the school building was completely damaged.”
In the past, Pakistani Taliban and allied militants, who regard girls' education as anti-Islam, have attacked thousands of schools for young women in northwestern and northern parts of Pakistan. In 2012, the Pakistani Taliban shot and critically wounded Nobel prize winner Malala Yousafzai, known for her girls’ education advocacy in the northern Swat valley. At least 134 children were killed in a 2014 assault on an army-run school in the northwestern city of Peshawar.
“This was the first incident after the Zarb-e-Azb operation in which girls' school have been targeted,” Rasood Dawar, a Peshawar-based journalist who covers militancy, told Arab News. “Schools in North Waziristan were not targeted even before the Zarb-e-Azb operation because children of militants also went to the same schools.”
In the past, he added, militants only targeted the schools that were not functioning and in which they suspected soldiers were hiding. During military operations in Pakistan's northwest, Pakistani security forces routinely used schools and other government buildings as headquarters and hideouts.
However, district police officer said both schools targeted on Sunday night were not being used by security forces for any purposes.
“The schools were functional schools,” Riaz said.
Two girls' schools blown up in ‘militant act’ in Pakistan’s northwest — police
https://arab.news/gaxer
Two girls' schools blown up in ‘militant act’ in Pakistan’s northwest — police
- Islamabad has declared a new offensive against militants following a resurgence of attacks since last November
- In the past, Pakistani Taliban and allied militants have attacked thousands of girls' schools in northern Pakistan
Pakistan’s capital picks concrete over trees, angering residents
- Between 2001 and 2024, Islamabad lost 14 hectares of tree cover, according to Global Forest Watch
- Officials justify removing trees to tackle seasonal pollen allergies that are especially acute in spring
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s capital Islamabad was once known for its lush greenery, but the felling of trees across the city for infrastructure and military monuments has prompted local anger and even lawsuits.
Built in the 1960s, Islamabad was planned as a green city, with wide avenues, parks and tree-lined sectors.
Many residents fear that vision is steadily being eroded, with concrete replacing green spaces.
Muhammad Naveed took the authorities to court this year over “large-scale tree cutting” for infrastructure projects, accusing them of felling “many mature trees” and leaving land “barren.”
The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) blamed major infrastructure development, including road construction and monuments, for the mass razing of trees and natural vegetation in Islamabad.
Between 2001 and 2024, the capital lost 14 hectares of tree cover, equal to 20 football pitches, according to Global Forest Watch, though the figure does not account for tree cover gains during the same period.
For Kamran Abbasi, a local trader and resident since the 1980s, it feels like “they are cutting trees everywhere.”
“It is not the same anymore,” he told AFP.
“Trees are life. Thousands are cut to build one bridge.”
SMOG AND POLLEN
Meanwhile, air quality in Islamabad continues to deteriorate.
Pollution is a longstanding problem, but plants can help by filtering dirty air, absorbing harmful gases and cooling cities.
“Forests act as powerful natural filters... cleaning the air and water, and reducing the overall impact of pollution,” Muhammad Ibrahim, director of WWF-Pakistan’s forest program told AFP.
There were no good air quality days in Islamabad last month, with all but two classed as “unhealthy” or “very unhealthy” by monitoring organization IQAir.
While some trees are felled for infrastructure, officials justify removing others to tackle seasonal pollen allergies that are especially acute in spring.
That problem is largely attributed to paper mulberry trees, which were planted extensively during the city’s early development.
“The main reason is pollen allergy,” said Abdul Razzaq, an official from the Capital Development Authority (CDA) in Islamabad.
“People suffer from chest infections, asthma and severe allergic reactions. I do too,” he told AFP.
The government plans to remove 29,000 pollen-producing trees and plants, according to a recent WWF report.
However, critics argue that pollen allergies are an excuse to justify broader tree-cutting, particularly linked to military and infrastructure projects.
The solution lies not in indiscriminate tree removal, but careful urban planning, experts say, replanting with non-allergenic species — and greater transparency around development projects in the capital.
CAPITAL UNDER AXE
In recent months, large bulldozers have been spotted levelling former green belts and wooded areas, including near major highways.
According to WWF and unnamed government officials, some of the cleared land is tapped for monuments commemorating the brief but intense armed conflict between Pakistan and neighboring India last May.
Other plots were razed to make way for military-linked infrastructure.
“We know that trees are being cut for military-related projects, but there is not much we can do,” a government source told AFP, requesting anonymity for security reasons.
“The people in power, the military, can do whatever they want.”
Pakistan’s powerful military has ruled the country for decades through coups and is deeply involved in the country’s politics and economy, analysts say.
At a proposed military monument site along the city’s express highway, WWF recorded more than six hectares of land clearing last year, with work continuing in 2026.
It saw “no active plantation... indicating that the clearing is infrastructure driven.”
The military did not respond to AFP’s request for comment.
Naveed’s court case seeking to halt the widespread felling, which is still being heard, argues there is “no excuse” for the tree loss.
“If a monument is deemed essential, why was it not placed in any existing park or public place?” he argues.
In reply to Naveed’s petition, authorities said roads and infrastructure projects were approved under regulations dating back to 1992.
