Malala Yousafzai condemns attack on schools in Pakistan's Gilgit-Baltistan

Pakistan's activist Malala Yousafzai on Friday condemned the attack on 12 schools in Gilgit-Balochistan which took place on Thursday.

She tweeted, "The extremists have shown what frightens them most - a girl with a book. We must rebuild these schools immediately, get the students back into their classrooms and show the world that every girl and boy has the right to learn."

Diamer Superintendent Police (SP) Roy Ajmal said 12 schools, including only-girls schools, were set on fire, according to Dawn.

In a few cases, books were also thrown and torched, he added.

The incident occurred in Chilas town, about 130-kilometres from Gilgit.

The police said, that no group has claimed responsibility for the attack yet. There were no casualties reported as the schools were closed when the attack took place.

Local residents and journalists said explosions were heard in GPS Ronay and Girls School Takya, however, police said that they did not receive reports about blasts.

A protest has been called by The Diamer Youth Movement in the district headquarters of Chilas, against the targeting of educational institutions in the area.

Later, locals took out a protest rally in Chilas against the burning down of schools and demanded that the police arrest the culprits. They raised the slogans of "Dehshatgard murdabad!" (death to terrorists!'').

Commissioner of Diamer, Syed Abdul Waheed Shah, told Dawn that no arrests have been made so far in the matter. He added that the police were investigating the incident and a first information report (FIR) would be registered.

The commissioner revealed that two schools were blown up and the other 11 schools were set on fire. 

(With inputs from ANI)