The families of children killed in a roof collapse in Peshawar’s Afridi Abad area called for “justice” on Friday, the day after more than 30 people, including students and a female teacher, were killed in the incident.
“The parents of all these children must receive justice,” tailor Muhammad Wahab, who lost his 11-year-old nephew Hammad in the accident, told AFP.
“I appeal to our rulers,” he said, adding that Hammad had been “doing well in school” before the tragedy.
Dozens of people gathered on Friday outside the school to mourn the children who were killed in the collapse, which officials blamed on dilapidated infrastructure.
One grief-stricken father showed AFP a picture on his mobile phone of his young daughter, dressed in red and gold, who lost her life.
Another parent, Asadullah, said he lost a son, nephew, and three other close relatives in the tragedy.
“The children were good students and often achieved top positions in their classes,” he told AFP. “They happily went to school every day.”
Residents and rescuers described chaotic scenes in the aftermath of Thursday’s collapse, as people scrambled to pull children out from under the rubble.
A man named Sohail told AFP that “everyone began screaming in panic” when his niece, who had escaped the building, arrived home to tell them it had collapsed.
“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.
Soon after the incident, the provincial chief secretary on Thursday constituted a fact-finding committee to probe the incident and tasked it with submitting a report within seven days.
Building and roof collapses are common in Pakistan, often attributed to poor safety standards and the use of substandard construction materials.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) held it was “not an accident but a preventable failure,” and recalled a similar incident in Lahore in June, which claimed the lives of 14 students.
Audit report of private school buildings in KP to be submitted in 4 days: Governor Kundi
Meanwhile, speaking at a press conference on Friday, KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi said those responsible for negligence in the school roof collapse would be held accountable, adding that legal action would be taken within 15 days and those found at fault would be punished.
“Until they are punished, schools will open in houses every day. We are also going to audit government and private schools,” Kundi claimed. “In four to five days, building audit reports of all private schools in the province will be submitted to us.”
He added he had given (officials) 15 days to submit reports on government schools as well.
“After the audit, if an incident happens, the auditor will be punished,” Kundi asserted.
Governor Kundi also announced compensation of Rs1 million for each bereaved family and Rs300,000 for each injured person. He said the school owner had been arrested, and that action will be taken against other people involved in the incident.
“On one hand, we are fighting a war against terrorism; on the other hand, those who play with the lives of children do not deserve any concession,” Kundi said.
Meanwhile, Samar Haroon Bilour, who is the adviser to the KP governor on information and public relations, in a televised message, urged residents to share videos of schools in poor condition in their areas, saying an inspection team had been dispatched to Mardan’s Gumbat village after a video showing a school in a dilapidated condition was received.
“Since yesterday, many of my brothers and sisters from different areas in KP are sending me messages through WhatsApp, Facebook, X, showing schools in their areas,” Bilour said.
“I request all of you to stand with us in this difficult time. The Governor Advisory Council has given four days’ time for inspection of schools. I request you to check schools in your area and share videos with us,” she added.