April 16, 2026
By Aitizaz Ibrahim & Kaleem Ullah
The only government boys’ primary school in Kot Gulan, a remote area in the southern district of Tank, in Khyber Pukhtunkhwa, was destroyed in a late-night explosion, leaving the community shocked and hundreds of children now without a school to go to.
According to local residents, unidentified miscreants planted explosives inside the school building. There was also a possibility of a quadcopter drone being used, which ultimately caused a powerful blast shortly after midnight on Tuesday, April 14. The explosion severely damaged the area’s only government primary school, which was just a small two-room structure.
Local resident and social activist Saddam Hussain Bittani, who visited the site after the blast, told Voicepk that people in the area were awakened by a loud explosion at around 12:15 a.m.
“Residents heard a massive blast during the night, but because it was dark, no one could immediately understand what had happened,” he said. “When people came out of their homes in the morning, they saw that the only primary school in the village had been blown up. Law enforcement personnel were already present at the scene.”
Bittani said the school had already been struggling with limited facilities. “More than 300 students, including girls, were studying in just two rooms of this school,” he said. “The future of our children depended on this building. Whoever carried out this attack does not want our children to be educated, because education gives people awareness and the courage to ask for their rights.”
He described the attack as not only destructive but deeply painful for the local community.
“This was not just a building,” he said. “There were schoolbooks, Islamic texts and verses of the Holy Quran all of which were buried under the rubble. The destruction of a place of learning is cruel, and the damage to religious material has caused even more grief among the residents.”
Despite repeated attempts, district authorities did not provide an official statement on the incident.
When contacted by Voicepk, the Circle Education Officer declined to comment, saying he was not allowed to speak publicly on the matter.
The District Police Officer (DPO) also did not respond to phone calls or text messages seeking confirmation and details of the blast. However, police sources have issued a statement to the media saying that an unidentified assailant infiltrated the school premises under the cover of darkness and planted explosive devices inside the building, which were later detonated. Authorities added that efforts are ongoing to identify and apprehend those responsible for the attack.
Not the first time
The attack in Tank is the latest in a disturbing series of assaults on educational institutions across southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where schools have increasingly become targets once again after years of relative calm.
Over the past several months, at least eight schools in the province’s former tribal districts have been damaged or destroyed in separate attacks, reviving fears of a return to the militant-era campaign against education.
Between August 2025 and February 2026, several schools in North and South Waziristan came under attack through bombings and drone strikes. In one of the most alarming incidents, a private institution, Al-Fatah Public School in Mir Ali, North Waziristan, was struck by quadcopter drones in consecutive attacks. The assault damaged the school compound and injured three people, including the principal.
In another incident in October 2025, militants attacked a government high school in the Azam Warsak area of Lower South Waziristan. Attackers reportedly looted educational equipment before vandalizing classrooms, furniture, and the boundary wall.
The violence intensified in December when two girls’ schools in the Mir Ali area were targeted within the same month. The repeated targeting of girls’ schools raised concerns that extremist groups were once again attempting to undermine female education in conflict-affected areas.
Apart from this incident in Tank, the most severe recent incident occurred in February 2026, when a government high school in Shamozan Kot in Shewa Tehsil was struck by a drone. Nearly 80 percent of the building was destroyed. Although no casualties were reported, the scale of the damage highlighted the growing use of modern tactics against civilian infrastructure.
During the same month, another government middle school for boys in the Sharif Kot area of Lower South Waziristan was destroyed in a blast that damaged classrooms, washrooms, the school boundary wall, and nearby houses.
For many residents in Tank, the destruction of the Kot Gulan school is not just another security incident — it is a direct attack on the future of their children.
Community members are now demanding that the government immediately rebuild the school and provide security for educational institutions in vulnerable areas before more children are deprived of their right to learn.