Three girls’ schools blown up in Orakzai

KALAYA: Unidentified militants blew up three girls primary schools in Upper Tehsil while the political administration arrested 26 persons redhanded while looting and plundering the houses abandoned by the displaced families because of the ongoing military operation in Ferozkhel area of Orakzai Agency on Thursday, tribal sources said.

Tribal sources said the three schools were destroyed in the Mamozai area early in the day. The militants have destroyed 12 government schools and two healthcare centres in Orakzai Agency since the military operation was launched in the region on March 23.

Presently more than 478 schools and 26 health centres are wearing a deserted look because of fighting between the security forces and Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan-affiliated militants in Orakzai Agency.

Dozens of militants have been killed in the ongoing military operation and several parts of the Orakzai Agency have been declared cleared of insurgents by the security forces. Meanwhile, the political administration arrested 26 persons redhanded while looting and plundering the houses abandoned by the uprooted families because of the ongoing military operation in Ferozkhel area in Orakzai Agency on Thursday, tribal sources said.

The sources said the detained men were handed over to the security forces by the political administration. They said the accused were also involved in inciting violence between the rival sects residing in the Ferozkhel area in lower part of Orakzai Agency.

They were accused of plundering the houses of the internally displaced persons who had migrated to safer places because of the military action in the area, the sources said, adding that the political administration recovered the goods and valuables that the arrested people had looted from the abandoned houses.

Some of the arrested men were identified as Babur, Malik Awan Ali, Ashkat Ali, Siddique Ali, Jabir Ali, Karamat Ali, Mutahir Hussain, Mumtaz Ali, Shakeel Khan, Ashraf Khan, Iftikhar Ali, Majid Hussain and Ameer Ali belonging to Manikhel tribe residing in the area, the sources added.

The political administration had handed over a list of 40 persons for being involved in act of looting to the elders of the Manikhel tribe and demanded that they be delivered to the government.