Pakistan Orders School Safety Inspections After Peshawar Roof Collapse Kills 35

Pakistan Orders School Safety Inspections After Peshawar Roof Collapse Kills 35

A three-storey school came down during morning lessons

The upper roof of the privately run Al-Khair Education Centre in Peshawar's Dir Colony gave way at about 8:48am local time on Thursday, Oct 15, crushing three classrooms on the floors below. Emergency crews reached the site within five minutes of being alerted, and rescuers pulled at least 40 children out alive, said Bilal Faizi, a spokesperson for Peshawar's emergency services. The operation lasted four to five hours; police said the narrow lanes around the building slowed heavy machinery. About 110 students were in the three classrooms when the roof fell.

The death toll was revised upward twice in a day

Hospital figures moved through the day. Twenty-seven pupils and a female teacher were reported dead early on; by evening, Lady Reading Hospital confirmed 32 children and a teacher killed, with two more bodies taken to Naseerullah Khan Babar Memorial Hospital. By Oct 16 the Associated Press and The Nation put the toll at 34 children and one teacher — 35 dead in all — with 52 people injured. Lady Reading Hospital said the victims were aged between 6 and 12, the oldest 14, and that 20 injured children were admitted, three of them with critical head injuries.

Police say an overloaded roof sat on a weak structure

Peshawar police chief Saeed Ahmed said the building was structurally weak and its roof had been overloaded by construction work. Rescue officials said the collapsed roof was built in the traditional mud-and-brick style and that some of the trapped children died of suffocation. The school's owner, Mohammad Khan, told police that recent rain had weakened one of the roofs.

Owner arrested as an FIR names shareholders and contractor

Police registered a case on Friday at the Agha Mir Jani Shah police station under sections 148, 149 and 322 of the Pakistan Penal Code, naming the school's owners, its shareholders and the contractor who built it. The first information report says substandard materials were used and that earlier complaints about the condition of the walls and roof were not addressed. Khan, arrested on Thursday, is accused of running the school on a 16-marla plot taken on a 10-year lease.

Families say they warned the owner about leaking classrooms

Mohammad Zaman, whose two nephews died, said he and other relatives had repeatedly complained to the owner that rainwater was seeping into classrooms, and warned the building could cause a tragedy. Zakirullah, a mosque prayer leader, lost both his sons, Mohammad, 10, and Abu Bakar, 8, who sat in the same classroom. Rumaisa Khan, 7, had left home in the new shoes her father had just bought her. The BBC reported that furious relatives accused the school of ignoring safety worries. Peshawar's Private Schools Regulatory Authority said the school was registered only in March 2026, that no technical staff were present at its inspection, and that the authority had no power to shut unregistered institutions.

12,503 private schools face inspection within three days

The provincial government ordered district committees to physically check every private school building in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa — 12,503 of them — looking at roofs, ceilings, walls, columns, beams, foundations and staircases, and to classify each as safe, in need of repairs or potentially unsafe. Reports are due within three days. A separate two-member inquiry committee formed by the provincial chief secretary must report within seven days, and a three-member committee that visited the site and the hospital has recommended cancelling the school's registration.

Governor gives 15 days for new legislation

Governor Faisal Karim Kundi ordered strict enforcement of safety rules, a review of how no-objection certificates are issued, and new legislation drafted within 15 days. The regulatory authority has been told to draw up comprehensive rules covering structural safety, building codes, regular inspections, classroom occupancy limits and emergency evacuation routes.

Compensation doubled, and a government school promised

The governor announced 1 million rupees for the family of each person killed and 200,000 rupees for each injured student. Federal minister Amir Muqam said on Friday the compensation would be doubled and pledged to build a government school in Dir Colony.

June's Lahore collapse killed 14 children

This is not an isolated failure. On June 30 a roof collapsed at a tutoring centre in Lahore's Kahna area, killing 14 children — the youngest five — and injuring eight. On July 27 a three-storey house in Lahore's Harbanspura locality folded in on itself, killing 11 and injuring six. In July 2025, 27 people died when a five-storey residential building collapsed in Karachi's Lyari district. Building collapses are common in Pakistan, where construction standards are often poorly enforced.

Sindh and Punjab follow, government schools included

Sindh's school education department told private schools to prove their buildings' structural integrity, hold valid fitness certificates and have electrical and gas installations checked, suspending classes in unsafe premises. Punjab ordered inspections of all private schools. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa the Communication and Works Department has been told to send technical teams into government schools too, issuing a building safety clearance for each inspected school.