Authorities in Bajaur tribal district announced that 39 public sector schools in various border areas will remain closed until further orders due to the prevailing security situation.
According to the notification issued, the decision to keep the schools located in different areas along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border closed was taken at a meeting chaired by Deputy Commissioner Shahid Ali Khan.
The notification, a copy of which is available with Dawn, stated that 39 schools located in the border areas of Lowi Mamund, War Mamund, and Nawagai tehsils will remain closed until further orders due to the prevailing security conditions.
It is worth noting that all public sector educational institutions in Bajaur, including schools and colleges, were set to reopen tomorrow after winter vacations.
Separately, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) has crashed into a government school building in the district headquarters of Ghalanai, officials said, as tensions persisted along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border with reports of artillery fire and aerial activity. No casualties were reported, and authorities said the incident did not cause significant structural damage. However, security in and around the compound was immediately tightened, and the area was cordoned off for inspection.
The drone, said to have approached from an unknown direction, struck the ventilator of a classroom at the Governor Model High School, located within the district headquarters Ghalanai compound near the deputy commissioner’s (DC’s) residence. Debris from the UAV was also found in the school’s veranda. Confirming the incident, Mohmand DC Muhammad Yasir Hassan said security forces were “attempting to shoot down” another drone that was detected in the airspace.