Hello my friends. I hope you and your families are all well today. I am writing about a very sad story today, and my heart feels very heavy.
On Thursday morning, something terrible happened in Peshawar, a big city in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The roof of a private school fell down while children were sitting in their classes. At least 35 people lost their lives. 34 of them were small children, and one was a female teacher. It is hard to even write these words.
What Happened? The Short Version
The school is called Al-Khair Education Center. It is in an area called Dir Colony in Peshawar. On Thursday morning, at about 8:48, classes had just started. Children were sitting in their rooms, ready to learn.
Suddenly, the roof of a classroom on the top floor came down. When it fell, it was so heavy that the ceilings of the rooms below it also broke and fell. Children were trapped under the broken pieces. Rescue workers came fast and worked for many hours to pull children out.
According to rescue official Bilal Faizi, who spoke to the media, emergency services reached the school at 8:48 in the morning, right after lessons had begun.
How Many Children Were Inside?
Peshawar’s police chief, Dr Mian Saeed, said that more than 110 students were in the three-storey building when the roof fell. He said about 30 pupils were in the top-floor classroom, 40 in the middle-floor classroom, and 45 on the ground floor.
Most of the children who died were between six and 14 years old. Many were under 13. Lady Reading Hospital, the main hospital in Peshawar, reported the deaths of 32 children and the teacher. Another hospital, Naseerullah Khan Babar Memorial Hospital, reported one more child dead. In total, 53 people were brought to Lady Reading Hospital. 33 did not survive, three stayed under observation, and 17 were sent home after treatment.
Why Did the Roof Fall?
The police chief said the building was weak. He told Reuters, “It was a weak building structure. Its roof was overloaded with construction on a weak structure, which caused the collapse.”
In simple words: the building was not strong, and extra construction work on its roof made it too heavy. The roof could not take the weight, so it fell.
Officials also said the school was built with steel girders, mud bricks, and in some places wooden beams. Some reports said parts of the building were made on a temporary basis, which means it was not built to last long. The police also warned that the rest of the building is “extremely dangerous” and could fall again.
The narrow street where the school stands also made rescue work hard. Only one vehicle could pass at a time, so ambulances and rescue machines had trouble reaching the spot.
What Did the Government Do?
After the tragedy, the government moved fast. Here is what happened step by step.
The school owner was arrested
Police arrested the owner of the private school. An inquiry has started to find out who is responsible for this tragedy.
The KP Governor ordered a probe
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi expressed deep grief. He said, “The loss of precious lives of innocent children is an extremely painful tragedy.” He ordered a detailed investigation and said the first question to answer is: who gave the school its no-objection certificate (NOC)? An NOC is an official paper that says a building is safe to use as a school.
The governor gave the inquiry team 15 days to submit its report. He also announced money help for the families: Rs1 million for each family that lost a child, and Rs200,000 to Rs300,000 for each injured child.
Safety audit of all schools
The governor also ordered a structural safety audit of all educational institutions across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. This means engineers will check school buildings to find weak ones before another tragedy happens. He wrote, “We cannot allow the safety of our children to be compromised.”
PM and President also responded
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed deep grief and asked for a comprehensive report. He directed that the injured children must get the best possible medical care. President Asif Ali Zardari called it a “heart-wrenching tragedy” and said safety standards in school buildings must be enforced strictly.
The Elementary and Secondary Education Department also made a fact-finding committee to probe the incident and asked it to submit its report quickly.
Funeral Prayers and Mourning
The KP Governor attended the funeral prayers of the dead children. Families cried as they buried their little ones. The whole nation is mourning. When 34 children die in one morning, every parent in Pakistan feels the pain.
Bereaved families are now demanding accountability. They want to know who allowed such a weak building to run as a school, and they want punishment for those responsible.
The Bigger Question: Are Our Schools Safe?
This tragedy has raised a big and painful question: are school buildings in Pakistan safe for our children?
Many private schools run in buildings that were first made as houses, not schools. Some owners add extra floors without making the structure strong. Checks are weak, and papers like NOCs are sometimes given without proper inspection.
This is why the safety audit ordered by the KP government is so important. If weak buildings are found and fixed or closed in time, future tragedies can be stopped. Every child has the right to sit in a classroom that will not fall on them.
My Honest Take
I will be honest with you, my friends. This story broke my heart. Children go to school to learn and dream, not to die under a roof.
The arrests, the probe, and the safety audit are all good steps. But steps after a tragedy are not enough. The real test is whether the government will keep checking school buildings every year, not just after children die. You can read more of my stories here on Pak Unfiltered, where I try to explain big news in simple words.
Today, I just want to say: hug your children a little tighter tonight. And pray for the 35 souls who did not come home from school on Thursday. May they rest in peace.
Take care,
Maryam
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