Families of children killed in a school roof collapse in northwestern Pakistan have called for justice after 33 students and a teacher died in the tragedy in Peshawar.
The collapse occurred on Thursday morning, killing a woman teacher and 32 students, most of them younger than 14. On Friday, grieving relatives and residents gathered outside the school to mourn the victims and demand accountability for the disaster.
Muhammad Wahab, a tailor who lost his 11-year-old nephew Hammad, appealed to the authorities to ensure the families received justice.
“The parents of all these children must receive justice,” Wahab told AFP on Friday.
He said Hammad had been doing well in school before his death and called on the country’s leaders to address the tragedy.
Another grieving father showed AFP a photograph of his young daughter, who was wearing red and gold clothing. She was among the children killed when the building’s roof collapsed.
Asadullah, another parent, said he had lost his son, a nephew and three other close relatives in the incident. He described the children as dedicated students who frequently achieved top positions in their classes.
“The children were good students and often achieved top positions in their classes,” he told AFP. “They happily went to school every day.”
Residents and rescuers described scenes of panic as people rushed to help children trapped beneath the rubble. Sohail, whose niece escaped the building and alerted her family, said relatives immediately hurried to the school after hearing the news.
“When I arrived at the scene, I saw around 10 to 15 children trapped beneath the rubble, with debris piled up to their necks. We quickly pulled them out,” he told AFP.
Emergency service images showed rescue workers wearing high-visibility vests as they moved through piles of broken concrete, dirt and other debris in search of victims.
School owner detained as officials investigate
A senior Peshawar official told AFP that preliminary reports pointed to weak infrastructure as the likely cause of the collapse. The official, who spoke anonymously because he was not authorised to address the media, confirmed that the school owner had been detained.
Authorities have yet to announce further details about the investigation or whether additional action will be taken against those responsible.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed deep sorrow over the deaths in a post on X, while President Asif Ali Zardari described the incident as a “heartbreaking tragedy.”
The disaster has renewed concerns about building safety in Pakistan, where collapses have frequently been linked to poor construction standards, inadequate maintenance and substandard materials.
In June, more than a dozen children were killed when the roof of a tutoring centre collapsed in Lahore, eastern Pakistan. In 2025, a five-storey building collapsed in Karachi’s impoverished Lyari neighbourhood, killing 27 people and injuring 10.
Pakistan, a country of more than 240 million people, continues to face challenges in enforcing construction regulations and ensuring that buildings used by the public meet safety requirements. For the families in Peshawar, the immediate demand remains accountability for the deaths of their children and loved ones.
