Unidentified miscreants burnt down a girls school in the Diamer district of Gilgit-Baltistan, and kidnapped the night watchman.
The unfortunate incident took place on the night between November 7 and 8. A group of six to seven unidentified assailants stormed the Girls Model School in the Darel locality of Diamer.
The miscreants, who had their faces covered, took the watchman hostage and set fire to the school. They also threw out some books and set those on fire as well. They fled the scene after committing the crime.
Such incidents, while uncommon for the past four years, have taken place in the past. In August 2018, at least 12 schools were burnt down by unknown attackers in the Diamer region of G-B.
Gilgit- Balitistan Chief Secretary Mohyuddin Wani in an appearance on a Dawn News programme said that the fact that the assailants were masked and therefore unidentifiable, as well as the fact that the crime of arson was committed in the dead of night, points to the fact that this was a small, local group that wanted to ruffle the feathers of the local police and community.
“I got to know about this incident at around 6 AM, and by 8 AM I assembled a team consisting of the Home Secretary, Commissioner, DC, DIG and gave them one task: bring heaven on earth and reconstruct the school within 72 hours,” he said.
He further tasked the team to include facilities and resources that previously weren’t there. These include IT labs and a sports complex.
