Islamabad, June 16: This year, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan has witnessed 11 attacks on educational institutions, resulting in the deaths of 13 individuals. This alarming statistic comes from a report based on partial data from the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP) as of June 14.
According to a report by Eurasia Review, only one incident involving an educational institution was recorded during the same period in 2025, injuring three children. This stark contrast highlights a significant increase in terrorist violence targeting schools and other educational facilities. Throughout 2025, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa recorded a total of 11 attacks on educational institutions, with three injuries reported.
Tushar Ranjan Mohanty, a research associate at the Institute for Conflict Management, noted in the Eurasia Review, “Since 2006, at least 557 attacks on educational institutions have been documented, resulting in 321 deaths and 208 injuries. However, due to limited media access in the most affected areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and inconsistent information from government agencies, the actual numbers may be higher.”
The first recorded attack on an educational institution occurred on December 25, 2006, targeting a girls’ school in the Noor Ali Kalai area of the Kohat district. The bombing completely destroyed three classrooms of the school.
Prior to the attack, extremists had sent threatening letters to several middle and high schools, demanding that girls’ education be halted beyond the fourth grade, or else the schools would be destroyed, and the principals would be killed.
The deadliest attack on an educational institution took place in 2014 at the Army Public School (APS) in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Seven terrorists from Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) stormed the school, resulting in the deaths of at least 135 students, 10 school staff members (including the principal), and three soldiers. Additionally, 121 individuals were injured, comprising 118 students and three staff members. The assault lasted over eight hours, after which Pakistani security forces killed all seven attackers.
Last month, the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) reported a deterioration in security conditions in May, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, where an increase in terrorist attacks was observed.
According to the PICSS report, there was a spike in terrorist attacks in May, following a temporary decline. The rising incidents of attacks, fatalities, suicide bombings, and kidnappings indicate that the security situation remains critical.
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