Historic school demolished illegally

Institution established in 1926 had been declared a national heritage

In an overnight operation, alleged members of the land mafia, in connivance with the police, demolished a historic school in the heart of the city, prompting a sharp reaction from authorities.

The government yesterday took prompt action against the perpetrators after they bulldozed the historic Government Secondary Boys School in Soldier Bazaar area, although a part of the building had already disintegrated.

The incident took place late on Sunday night when heavy machinery was moved in to demolish the school under the supervision of the area police as well as an official of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).

Residents resist

However, residents of the area came out of their homes and resisted the destruction, forcing the operators to leave before they could completely demolish the building.

The school was established in 1926 and was declared a national heritage site, which entitled the building to be protected.

Provincial education minister Jam Mehtab Dahir visited the school in the morning and blamed police for the destruction of the school.

Talking to journalists, he said the protection of the building was the responsibility of the police but they connived with the land mafia to eradicate the school so that a commercial residential high rise could be constructed on the site.

He appreciated civil society and residents of the area for coming forward to protect the school building before it was taken down completely.

The minister further said stern action would be taken against the land grabbers so that no one else could dare thinking of committing such a heinous crime in future.

He assured officials of the national heritage department would be assigned to collect the debris of the demolished part of the school so that they could salvage the material and see if that part could be restored.

Abdul Aziz Uqaili, the education secretary told the media that there were three culprits involved in demolishing the school building who were named in a police First Instance Report.

He further said a case has been registered under the section that deals with damaging national heritage sites.

Sindh police chief A.D. Khowaja also expressed his serious concerns over the destruction of school under the supervision of a police officer. Talking to the press, he said that no one, whether a civilian or a policeman, would be spared if his involvement proven in the destruction.