Islamabad, June 16 (IANS) As many as 11 incidents of attacks on educational institutes have been reported this year in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province resulting in the death of 13 people, a report has revealed while citing a partial data compiled by the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP) till June 14.
During the same period in 2025, only one incident of attack on an educational institution was reported in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in which three children were injured, indicating a rise in the level of terrorist violence targetting educational institutions. A total of 11 incidents of attacks were reported in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 2025, in which three people were injured, a report in Eurasia Review mentioned.
"Since 2006, at least 557 attacks targeting educational institutions have been recorded, resulting in 321 fatalities and 208 persons injured. [Since media access is heavily restricted in the most disturbed areas of KP, and there is only fitful release of information by Government agencies, the actual figures could be much higher.] The first documented attack on an educational institution occurred on December 25, 2006, when a bomb explosion damaged a girls’ school in the Noor Ali Kalay area of Darra Adamkhel tehsil (revenue unit) in Kohat District," Tushar Ranjan Mohanty, Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management wrote in Eurasia Review.
"The blast, which took place at approximately 12:45 am, completely destroyed three rooms of the school building. Prior to the attack, extremists had reportedly circulated threatening letters to several middle and high schools, warning school authorities to stop girls from studying beyond Class IV or face the destruction of school facilities and the killing of school principals," the author added.
The deadliest attack on an educational institution took place in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Peshawar in 2014, when a seven-member Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) squad stormed the Army Public School (APS) in Peshawar. At least 135 students, 10 school staff members, including the principal and three soldiers were killed and 121 people, including 118 students and three staff members, were injured in the attack, according to the report. The attack continued for more than eight hours before Pakistani security personnel successfully killed all seven attackers.
Last month, Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS), in its monthly security assessment, revealed that security situation in Pakistan deteriorated in May, particularly due to increase in terrorist attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.
The latest findings by PICSS showcased increase in terror attacks during May after a brief period of relative decline, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. The sharp rise in attacks, casualties, suicide bombings and kidnappings suggest that security challenges remain severe.
As many as 128 terrorist attacks occurred in May in comparison to 101 attacks in April, showcasing a 27 per cent rise. As many as 71 people, 68 security personnel and six members of peace committees were killed while 147 people, 35 security personnel and three peace committee members were injured in terrorist violence in May.
Compared to April, civilian casualties rose from 37 to 71, showcasing a 92 per cent increase while security personnel fatalities rose from 28 to 68, showcasing a 143 rise. Pakistan witnessed six suicide attacks in May, causing death of 34 security personnel and nine civilians.
Balochistan was the most affected province of Pakistan in May as it recorded 71 terrorist attacks, in comparison to 34 in April, showcasing a 109 per cent rise. As many as 54 kidnappings occurred in Pakistan in May. Of them, 52 kidnappings took place in Balochistan alone.
--IANS
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