Schools reopen in NW Pakistan

After Taliban offensive:

PAKISTAN: Schools reopened in Pakistan’s restive northwest Saturday after nearly three months of being closed due to fighting between the military and Taliban militants, officials said.

Pakistan has been returning families to the districts of Swat and Buner, where troops unleashed a massive summer offensive against the Taliban, with Islamabad claiming to have largely defeated the extremists.

“All schools in Malakand division are open from today,” North West Frontier Province education minister Qazi Asad told AFP.

Asad said some 356 schools were damaged during the Taliban insurgency and the authorities were working on an emergency plan to rebuild or hire private buildings.

Meanwhile, tents have been provided to hold classes temporarily, he said.

In the northwest Swat valley’s main town of Mingora, children in school uniform were seen going to school early Saturday.

An AFP reporter said children at Government High School Mingora received their lessons in tents, though the attendance was low, according to principal Fazal Aziz, as many students were under curfew.

“There is no electricity, water and other facilities and it is hard to keep students in tents for a long time in hot weather,” Aziz said.

Khan Mohammad, a ninth grade student, said he was glad to return to lessons despite his school having been reduced to a pile of rubble.

Mingora, Sunday, AFP