Inquiry holds school owner responsible for roof collapse

PESHAWAR: An inquiry into the recent deadly collapse of a school roof here has held the owner responsible for using substandard construction material.

It also pointed out negligence on the part of the relevant departments.

The inquiry report was presented to Governor Faisal Karim Kundi during a meeting chaired by him here, according to an official statement issued by his office.

The meeting was attended by adviser to the governor Dr Amir Abdullah, chief secretary Dr Fakhar Alam Irfan, education secretary Inayatullah Waseem and members of the inquiry committee.

At least 30 children and a schoolteacher were killed and dozens of others injured when the roof of a multi-storey private school collapsed in the Dir Colony area.

Rescue officials said that the ceiling of a classroom collapsed onto students after the roof of the floor above gave way, causing the two storeys to crumble.

The governor later ordered an inquiry into the incident.

On Wednesday, the inquiry committee held the school owner responsible for using substandard construction material.

The meeting, chaired by the governor, was also briefed about negligence by the relevant departments.

Mr Kundi received a detailed briefing on the causes of the incident, statements of the relevant officials, the responsibilities of various departments, the inquiry committee’s findings and its recommendations.

The governor directed authorities to examine the legal aspects of the report in consultation with the law department.

He said that strict action should be taken against those responsible for the school collapse.

Published in Dawn, October 29th, 2026