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- November 8, 20267°
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Turkish and Pakistani Red Crescents support families after Peshawar school collapse
The Turkish Red Crescent and the Pakistan Red Crescent Society distributed food parcels to the families of students killed or injured when the roof of Al-Khair School collapsed in Peshawar on 15 October. The Turkish Embassy in Islamabad reaffirmed that Türkiye would always stand “shoulder to shoulder” with the Pakistani people.
The Turkish Red Crescent and the Pakistan Red Crescent Society joined forces to assist the families of students who were killed or injured when the roof of Al-Khair School collapsed in Peshawar, the capital of Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, on 15 October, the Turkish Embassy in Islamabad announced.
In a post on X in English, Urdu and Turkish, the embassy said the two organizations had “joined forces” to deliver aid to the affected families after the “tragic incident,” adding: “We will always stand shoulder to shoulder with our Pakistani sisters and brothers, turning our deep-rooted brotherhood into solidarity and action.”
Photos released by the embassy show a sign bearing the logos of the Turkish Red Crescent and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa branch of the Pakistan Red Crescent Society. It reads, “School roof collapse incident – distribution of food parcels in solidarity with the families affected by the deaths and injuries of students,” and is dated Friday, 6 November 2026. Employees of both organizations, wearing Red Crescent vests, sit in front of the sign as victims’ relatives gather to receive the parcels.
Dozens of children among the victims
The roof of the private school in the Dir Colony neighborhood collapsed on the morning of 15 October while students were attending classes. The Associated Press reported that the incident killed 34 children and a teacher, while Pakistan’s ARY News cited a police report putting the toll at 33 children and a teacher, in addition to 52 injured people.
Pakistan’s Express Tribune reported that the roof collapsed at 8:48 a.m. local time and that most of the victims were between 6 and 13 years old. According to the newspaper, provincial Governor Faisal Karim Kundi announced compensation of 1 million rupees for each fatality and 200,000 rupees for each injured person.
The Peshawar police chief said the building was structurally weak, and Muhammad Khan, the school’s owner, was detained. He told investigators that recent rains had weakened one of the roofs, according to the Associated Press. The provincial government ordered inspections of all private school buildings in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, while ARY News reported on 28 October that the investigation committee’s report had been submitted to the provincial governor and, according to the channel’s sources, held the school’s owner and the relevant administrations responsible.
The boxes distributed to the families bore the logos of the Pakistan Red Crescent and the Turkish Red Crescent, while employees of both organizations were seen helping beneficiaries carry them.
Five-year partnership between the societies
The joint initiative is part of growing cooperation between the two organizations. The Pakistan Red Crescent Society and the Turkish Red Crescent signed a five-year memorandum of understanding last February covering capacity building, information sharing, joint humanitarian operations, training exchanges and coordinated emergency response, according to Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper. The Pakistani society’s president described the partnership at the time as a “powerful symbol of brotherhood” between Pakistan and Türkiye.
Photos: Turkish Embassy in Islamabad
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