Malala Yousafzai on Pakistan schools burning: ‘A girl with a book’ frightens extremists

A slew of coordinated attacks have yet again gripped Pakistan wherein twelve girls’ schools were burned down in the Gilgit-Baltistan area which further triggered protests by local residents who sought safety for educational institutions which are often attacked by the militants, a media report said on August 3.

Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani activist, took to social media late on August 3 and condemned the attack which took place late on Thursday night.

The extremists have shown what frightens them most – a girl with a book.

We must rebuild these schools immediately, get the students back into their classrooms and show the world that every girl and boy has the right to learn. https://t.co/99J7ZivafC

— Malala (@Malala) August 3, 2018

Diamer Superintendent of Police (SP) Roy Ajmal said 12 schools, including only-girls schools were set on fire. He also said that in a few cases, books were also thrown out and torched, a report in the Dawn said.

SP Ajmal also added that police teams have been dispatched to investigate the reports and said that no one had claimed responsibility for the incidents as yet.
Local police officer Mohammad Bashir was quoted by Dawn as saying that the attack on schools took place near Chilas before dawn on Friday, however, no casualties were reported as the schools were closed when the attack took place.

#Breaking: 12 Schools burnt down overnight in #Gilgit–#Baltistan‘s #Diamer district. Local residents said they had heard explosions in GPS Ronay & Girls School Takya. #Pakistan #Chilas pic.twitter.com/QgnT23ibrt
— SherY – (@SherySyed_) August 3, 2018

A protest was called by The Diamer Youth Movement in the district headquarters of Chilas, against the targeting of educational institutions in the area along with locals who demanded that the police arrest the culprits. They shouted the slogans of “Pak Army zindabad!” [Long live Pak Army!] and “Dehshatgard murdabad!” [death to terrorists!]

Syed Abdul Waheed Shah, Commissioner of Diamer, reported to Dawn that no arrests have been made so far in the matter. He also reported that the police were investigating the incident and a first information report (FIR) would be registered.

There are no Taliban militants in the area, however, extremists who oppose female education are present, Shah disclosed in the same media address.

Diamer has previously also had incidents of schools coming under attack. Girls’ schools, in particular, were targeted, allegedly by extremists, in 2004 and 2011.

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