2 Pak girls' schools burnt down ... second such attack in a week

KARACHI: Two more girls' schools have been burnt down by unidentified persons in Pakistan amid a spate of such incidents that have raised concerns over the safety of educational institutions which are often attacked by the militants opposing women's education, a media report said today.

This is the second major incident of attack on educational institutions in Pakistan in a week. On Friday, unknown militants had set 12 schools, half of them all-girls', on fire in the country's north Gilgit Baltistan.

Yesterday's attack took place in Pishin district of the restive Balochistan province. No casualty was reported in the incidents as nobody was in the school in the night time, Duniya News reported.

Girls' schools are often attacked in the northern areas of Pakistan.

In December 2011, at least two girls' schools were partially damaged in low-intensity explosions in Chilas.

In 2004, girls' schools in Chilas came under a string of attacks. Nine schools of which eight were girls' schools were attacked and destroyed in five days in the area in February.

Terrorists have also blown up educational institutions in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). According to a report, about 1,500 schools have been destroyed in the tribal belt during the last 10 years.

Nobel Prize winner and education activist Malala Yousafzai was also shot by the Taliban in 2012 for advocating girls' education in Swat.