LOWER DIR: The district education officer on Saturday recommended the temporary closure for one week of 18 girls’ schools in the border areas of Upper Dir amid the prevailing security situation along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

According to an official letter issued by the District Education Officer (Female), Upper Dir, to the deputy commissioner, serious concerns have been raised about the safety of students and teaching staff amid the prevailing uncertainty in the district’s border areas.

The letter said reports received from the relevant sub-divisional education officers indicated that several schools in the affected areas were directly exposed to potential risks arising from the ongoing situation.

The education department has requested the district administration to allow the schools, including girls’ high, middle and primary schools, to remain closed from Aug 15 to Aug 22 as a precautionary measure to safeguard students and staff.

The schools proposed for temporary closure are located in Panakot, Qulandai, Dobando, Umrailal, Shandalbagh, Qashqari, Rokhan, Kass, Raza Banda and Khan Shaheed.

The letter was also copied to the secretary of the Elementary and Secondary Education Department, the director of education, the deputy commissioner of Upper Dir and the district monitoring officer.

The Upper Dir deputy commissioner told local reporters that no decision had yet been made on the closure of the 18 girls’ schools.

The recommendation comes amid a security operation in the mountainous Dobando area of Upper Dir, where a gun battle between police and suspected terrorists began on Wednesday night and continued on Thursday.

Officials said both sides remained entrenched in their positions and heavy weapons were being used, though no casualties had been confirmed.

Last month, two policemen were martyred and 16 others sustained injuries in an exchange of fire with terrorists on Haidari Top, a mountainous area in Lower Dir.

Law enforcers were conducting a search-and-strike operation in the area following reports about the presence of terrorists when they came under a sudden attack from armed insurgents, after which the ensuing gun battle lasted several hours.