IED blast in Pakistan damages school building

A Government girls’ school building was damaged in an explosion caused by an improvised explosive device (IED) in Pakistan’s Punjab province, police said on Saturday. No casualty was reported in the blast as the school had been on winter vacation. The incident took place in Taunsa district, some 450 kilometres from Lahore, on Thursday.

Police officer Sadiq Baloch said the IED caused the collapse of the school building located in Basti Jooter, Koh-i-Suleman tehsil, Northern Tuman Qaisrani within the jurisdiction of Border Military Police’s Lakhani post.

The area lies along the Punjab-Khyber Pakhtunkhwa-Balochistan boundary, making it one of the most sensitive security zones in Punjab. Currently, there is winter vacation in schools across Punjab.

Baloch said the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) was behind this attack. He said as there is winter vacation till January 11, no casualty has been reported in the blast. Punjab Education Minister Rana Sikandar Hayat in a social media post said the Government will rehabilitate the school and resume classes within a month.