| St. Mary’s High School | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Sangota, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan | |
| Information | |
| Type | High school |
| Religious affiliation(s) | Roman Catholic Church |
| Established | 1962 |
| Closed | June 2009 |
| LEA | Catholic Board of Education Islamabad-Rawalpindi |
| Administration | Carmelite Sisters |
| Gender | Girls |
| Age | 5 to 16 |
| Affiliations | Roman Catholic Diocese of Islamabad-Rawalpindi |
The Catholic Public High School in Sangota, in the Swat Valley, Pakistan was built in 1962 under the Roman Catholic Diocese of Islamabad-Rawalpindi.
The school for girls was closed on September 10, 2007, after a letter warned the Sisters running the school to close the "factory of Christians" or face suicide attacks. Jan Nisaran-e-Islam (sacrificers of Islam) sent the letter to Swat Press Club, and local newspapers published it on September 9. It re-opened on 17 September after the Swat district coordination officer assured protection for the convent and the school.[1]
In June 2009 it was destroyed by raiders, according to a report from the Pakistani Bishops Justice and Peace Commission.[2]
The girls' boarding school, run by the Carmelite Sisters was attacked with explosives that destroyed the building. No victims were reported, as the Sisters themselves had closed the school, as a precaution. The school had nearly 1,000 students mainly from poor Christian and Muslim families.
According to the Church, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa has suffered attacks on nearly 150 schools in recent years, a sign of the rise in intolerance and the spread of Islamic fundamentalist groups that are trying to annihilate the work of Christian institutions in the area of education.[3]