Pakistan orders school inspections following deadly roof collapse

After the roof of Al-Khair school in Peshawar collapsed on Thursday, killing at least 34 students aged 13 or younger and a teacher, Pakistani authorities ordered inspections of schools in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The provincial education department must report its findings within three days and classify schools as safe, in need of repairs, or potentially unsafe; inspections will cover roofs, ceilings, walls, and staircases. Police arrested the school’s owner, Mohammad Khan; Peshawar Police Chief Saeed Ahmed said the building was structurally weak and that Khan told officers recent rains had weakened it. Bereaved relatives are demanding justice and say they repeatedly warned Khan that rainwater was seeping into classrooms.