Pakistan, Oct. 16 -- At least 31 people, including 30 students and a female teacher, were killed when the roof of a private school collapsed in Peshawar on Thursday. The pupils, aged between seven and 14, were attending classes at Al-Khair School in Afridi Abad when an upper roof came crashing down, crushing the classrooms beneath. Police suspect that excessive construction weight on an already weak structure caused the collapse. If confirmed, this would make the deaths all the more difficult to stomach.

The school's owner has been arrested, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has sought a comprehensive report, and KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi has ordered structural safety audits of educational institutions across the province. These are nec...