PESHAWAR: Families of 32 children and a teacher killed in a school roof collapse in Peshawar have demanded justice and accountability from the previous Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-led provincial government, raising questions over school safety and the condition of educational buildings before the tragedy.
The victims were mostly children under the age of 14. The tragedy has renewed calls for accountability over the condition of school buildings and the measures taken by the authorities responsible for ensuring students’ safety.
The families are seeking accountability from the authorities responsible for school safety, including those who served under the previous provincial government led by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
Muhammad Wahab, a tailor whose 11-year-old nephew, Hammad, died in the collapse, appealed to the authorities to ensure justice for the bereaved families.
“The parents of all these children must receive justice,” he told AFP on Friday.
He said Hammad had been doing well at school before the tragedy.
Families In Mourning
Dozens of people gathered outside the school on Friday to mourn the children killed in the collapse, which officials initially attributed to dilapidated infrastructure.
One grieving father showed AFP a photograph of his young daughter, dressed in red and gold, who died in the incident.
Another parent, Asadullah, said he had lost his son, a nephew and three other close relatives.
“The children were good students and often achieved top positions in their classes,” he told AFP. “They happily went to school every day.”
Desperate Rescue
Residents and rescuers described chaotic scenes after the building collapsed on Thursday morning, as people rushed to pull children from beneath the rubble.
Sohail, a resident, told AFP that his family learnt of the disaster when his niece, who had escaped the building, arrived home and reported the collapse.
“When I arrived at the scene, I saw around 10 to 15 children trapped beneath the rubble, with debris piled up to their necks. We quickly pulled them out,” he said.
Images released by emergency services showed rescue workers in high-visibility vests removing debris, rubble and dirt from the site.
School Owner Detained
A senior Peshawar official told AFP that initial reports pointed to weak infrastructure as the cause of the collapse.
“The school owner has been detained,” the official said.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed “deep sorrow and grief over the loss of precious lives” in a post on X, while President Asif Ali Zardari described the incident as a “heartbreaking tragedy”.
Safety Concerns
Hours after the incident, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi ordered a comprehensive safety inspection of educational institutions across the province following a deadly school roof collapse in Peshawar’s Dir Colony.
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In a statement posted on X, Kundi described the loss of innocent children as deeply heartbreaking and said he had instructed the provincial education adviser to submit a detailed report on the incident.
The governor ordered a comprehensive survey of school buildings across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to identify potential safety risks and ensure that corrective measures were taken promptly.
The inspections are intended to help authorities identify unsafe structures and address potential hazards before they lead to further tragedies.
“Children’s safety cannot be compromised,” the governor said, stressing that their lives and security must remain the highest priority.
