Girls School Blown Up By Militants In Pakistan

PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Suspected Islamist militants blew up a girls school close to the main city in northwestern Pakistan on Tuesday, police said. The school was empty at the time of the blast and no one was injured.

A timed explosive device is believed to have caused the explosion that badly damaged the school on the outskirts of Peshawar, police officer Hamdullah Khan said.

Al-Qaida and Taliban militants hold sway across much of northwest Pakistan near the border with Afghanistan and have often targeted girls schools in both countries because they believe that women should not be educated.

The military has launched large offensives across parts of the region in an attempt to rein the militants in, but they remain strong in much of the mountainous, lawless zone.

Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani said Tuesday that the global fight against terrorism requires not just a military solution but also gaining the trust of civilians in regions where insurgents operate.

"No war against terrorism can be won without the support of the people," Gilani told a crowd in the eastern city of Multan as part of Eid al-Fitr celebrations at the end of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan.

Winning over the hearts and minds of the civilian population was crucial in assisting the military offensive in the northwestern Swat Valley that ousted Taliban militants from power in July, Gilani noted.

The army launched the Swat offensive in April after local Taliban leaders, who had imposed their harsh interpretation of Islam on residents there, violated a peace deal with the government and expanded into Buner, a district within 60 miles (100 kilometers) of the capital, Islamabad.

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Gilani also said Pakistan will not allow terrorists to plot attacks on its soil against other countries, including archrival India.

The comment came a day after the leader of a banned Pakistani Islamist group that India accuses of carrying out attacks on its financial capital late last year was placed under house arrest again.

Pakistani police prevented Hafiz Muhammad Saeed from leaving his home Monday. Saeed is a founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba, which New Delhi says masterminded the commando-style assault that killed 166 people in Mumbai last November.

Yahya Mujhaid, a spokesman for Saeed, condemned the arrest as illegal and unconstitutional.

Pakistan detained Saeed in December, but a Pakistani court freed him from house arrest in June saying there was not enough evidence to hold him.

The prime minister said Tuesday that more evidence tying Saeed to the Mumbai attacks was needed for a criminal case to proceed.

"The government has taken Hafiz Saeed in custody, but further action against him depends on proof available," Gilani later told reporters.

In the northwest, police acting on a tip recovered arms, ammunition and explosives Tuesday hidden near Kohat town – the scene of a suicide bombing Friday that killed more than 30 people, police chief Dilawar Bangash told The Associated Press.

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Associated Press writer Zarar Khan contributed to this report from Islamabad

Comments

[T Specter]

Barbarians.

[rosiebond007]

A reminder - MOHAMMED'S WIFE WAS A SCHOOL TEACHER .

SHE FINANCIALLY SUPPORTED HIM, FED AND CLOTHED HIM WHILE WORKING.

WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE WHO DON'T READ THE QUORAN??

[blutigeroo]

And Aeysha (RA) is regarded in the Muslim world as one of the best female scholars. Not to mention the fact that Islam actually started off as a proto-feminist movement that granted women rights that they were not given in the West until the 19th century.

Why should they read the Quran? If the leaders of the Taliban permitted their followers to read the Quran then their followers would desert them.

[CoronaDischarge]

There is no greater threat to the Taliban than educated women.

[anitaj]

If the only way you can keep women around is to tap them, you might want to reconsider you philosophy.

[anitaj]

That should have read, "If the only way you can keep women around is to trap them, you might want to reconsider you philosophy."

My bad.

[mollymac]

Please be aware of the high preponderance of genital mutilation that is occurring in european countries and even our own in immigrant populations from African countries. These atrocities are being done by the thousands to young Muslim females before puberty to keep them "clean" and virginal for men. Until we all take this seriously (the Scandinavian countries are fighting the good fight around this issue), women and girls will continue to be brutalized by the ignorance of their "culture".

[Durango]

Now there is a way to capture the hearts and minds of the vast majority of Pakistanis . . . who want nothing to do with these fanatics.

As for all those who think we can just walk away from Afghanistan, what is your strategy for dealing with the fundamentalists in Pakistan?

Especially now thet the Pakistan govenment is finally taking the threat seriously and moving against the militants.

it would appear that the Obama Administration is embarked on a serious strategy against our real enemy. Which also happens to be the enemy of every Muslim government in the world.

And events in Somalia, Pakistan, and Indonesia appear to show the success of that strategy.

No question Afghanistan is a difficult situation. But by working WITH the Islamic world the Obama Adminstration has to be given the chance to succeed.

[blutigeroo]

Yes! If only Bush had started to work with them (help was offered after 9-11) instead of isolating the entire Muslim population of the world with his calls for the "crusade".
It is good that many Muslim countries are prepared to give Obama the benefit of the doubt, he just has to follow up his words with serious action to truly make a difference.

[Grant Morrison]

..

It's a religion of LOVE.

.

[Durango]

You know of course that the school that was blown up as well as the soldiers fighting the militants are Muslims as well.

Then again, I would guess you don't.

[PWM]

People miss that important point.

[Grant Morrison]

..

I SAID : "It's a religion of LOVE."

The fact that you take that as an insult says more about YOU, rather than ME or Islam.

.

[PWM]

So we can conclude that the IRA in N. Ireland were represenatives of Christianity?

[Grant Morrison]

..

If they took their orders from the POPE.

.

[Kassandra]

As the world implodes, wimmin and children are going to be increasing subject to attacks of all varieties.
The men have gone crazy

[SFBunkSurf]

"The men have gone crazy..." Tell me something new! Heh heh! If this world were run by women we'd all be in much better shape. I laugh at these so called "religious" people who think this is ok, or in any way justified by their religious views. BS! Too much religion and a lack of education is the real problem.

[DD1Prime]

Not only are these "Islamists" evil - they also promote stupidity. These are primary schools for girls - the cornerstone of basic literacy. Apparently, these Taliban (or whatever they call themselves) want girls and women to be completely illiterate - unable to function on their own.

As a military strategy - attacking schools and schoolgirls has to be a waste. After all these years of being terrorized by these cretins the local population MUST be getting fed up with them. Who wants to be ruled by lunatics who blow up schools? What does life look like with no civilization?

The Saudi princes and Pakistani intel officers who finance these Islamists should be identified and swiftly eliminated, without mercy.

[blutigeroo]

And all the Americans and British supporting them should be forgiven.

[DD1Prime]

What American and British support? Aren't we about to deploy 20K more troops against hese guys in Afghanistan?

[MosheDayanHero]

Blutigeroo and the like practice taqiyya, religiously sanctioned lying.

[robmclaughjr]

This is our enemy. He attacks little girls. How can anyone not hate these child-killers? They're lower than bugs.

[roshni]

Agree.

[blutigeroo]

Yep.

[lainey]

This is beyond sad. The only way to truly change the world is to educate the girls of every country. Certainly all children should study, yet study after study shows us that when a young girl is educated, the impact is profound. My heart aches for these young girls and their families. My heart aches for all girls trying to make our world a better place. Blessings.