School set ablaze, IED alast targets police in KP’s Buner

Buner: Unidentified militants set fire to a government primary school and later detonated an improvised explosive device (IED) as a police team was returning from the scene in Meragai, Buner on Monday.

Fortunately, no casualties were reported in either incident.

Israr Khan, spokesperson for the Buner District Police Officer (DPO), confirmed that the incidents occurred in the outskirt of Meragai, near the Chargharzai area border.

“A government primary school, serving both girls and boys, was burned by unknown assailants late at night. As our police team was returning from inspecting the site, an IED exploded on the rough village road linking Pishlor Shangla to Gul Bandai. Thankfully, there were no injuries,” Khan said.

He identified the incidents as acts of terrorism carried out by the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), whose movement has been frequently observed along the Shangla-Buner border. The Shangla DPO also confirmed the attacks.

A local eyewitness reported hearing an explosion shortly after schoolgirls had left the school and crossed the road.

Former MPA Faisal Zeb Khan, who hails from the area, mentioned that there was a girls’ school nearby but was uncertain whether the terrorists were targeting the schoolgirls or the police. He noted that the blast occurred after the schoolgirls had safely passed the site.

Khan also highlighted the deteriorating security situation along the Buner-Shangla border, adding that his house was attacked multiple times by terrorists during his tenure as an MPA before 2022.