A roof collapse at a private school in Peshawar's Dir Colony area has killed children and a female teacher, and police have registered a case against the school's owners, shareholders and construction contractor. The Peshawar school collapse has been reported with differing death tolls, so the figures below are the ones tied to the first information report (FIR) unless noted otherwise. The case is framed as one of negligence, which is an allegation that has not been proven.
What the FIR says
The case was registered at the Agha Mir Jani Shah police station on behalf of the state. It cites Section 322 of the Pakistan Penal Code, the country's main criminal law, which covers death caused without an intention to kill, known in legal terms as qatl-bis-sabab. One report lists Sections 148, 322 and 149, while another mentions only Section 322, so the full list of sections is not settled in the reports.
According to the FIR, substandard construction material was used in the school building, which it describes as dilapidated and unfit for use. It also says earlier complaints about deteriorating walls and roofs were not acted on, and that students had raised concerns about the building's condition. The roofs of a nursery classroom on the second floor and several ground-floor rooms collapsed.
The school stands on a 16-marla plot that reportedly belongs to two men, Waheed and Javed. The land was leased in 2024, after which the building was constructed.
Casualty figures differ
The FIR records 30 children and one female teacher dead, and 52 people injured. Other figures circulating online are higher or lower. One early post said at least 16 people had been killed, while a later post put the toll at 35 dead and 45 injured, and another cited 33 children plus a teacher. Those posts were provisional and did not come from an official source.
Rescue 1122, the emergency service, has been working at the site, with officials collecting children's belongings from the rubble. No final official toll appears in the material available for this report.
What happens next
Police said efforts were under way to arrest the suspects named in the FIR, which include the school's owners, shareholders and the contractor. No arrest is confirmed in the material available. The Peshawar school collapse case is at an early stage, and the negligence allegations will be examined through the investigation rather than settled by this report.
The case may also draw attention to building checks at private schools in Peshawar, although the sources do not say whether authorities plan such inspections.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Peshawar ke Dir Colony ilaqay mein ek private school ki chhat gir gayi, jis mein bachon aur ek teacher ki jaan gayi. Police ne school ke malikan, shareholders aur thekedar ke khilaf case darj kiya hai, jin par ghatiya material aur shikayatoon ko nazarandaz karne ka ilzam hai. Maut aur zakhmiyon ki tadaad mukhtalif reports mein mukhtalif hai, is liye official tafseel ka intezar karein. Agar aap ke bachay private school mein parhte hain, to school se building ki hifazat ke bare mein zaroor poochhein.
