Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif made a candid admission in front of reporters in London on Sunday. He accepted that progress has been slow on the implementation of the National Action Plan (NAP), while vowing to continue fighting against militants. “In certain areas of NAP the progress is slow, but in many other areas work has been started,” he said while talking to reporters.
The premier’s comments came four days after the attack on Bacha Khan University in Charsadda, in which 21 people were killed. The assault resembled the December 2014 attack on Army Public School in Peshawar, which led to the development of the 20-point National Action Plan, formally launched in January 2015.
Opposition leader Khurshid Shah expressed concerns about the ‘non-implementation’ of NAP on Tuesday, accusing the federal government of ‘making no significant progress’.
“I ask the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to conduct a judicial investigation into the two tragedies,” He said. “We do not know what actually happened in the Army Public School and Bacha Khan University. What is the outcome of any investigation carried out so far?”
Ayesha Siddiqa, a security analyst and the author of Pakistan’s Arms Procurement and Military Buildup, acknowledges there are problems, but adds that the program may work in some ways. “The problem is, do we have the capacity or the intent?” she says. “The law enforcement is limited in defending all soft targets. There are too many of them.”
Gul Bukhari, an analyst and a columnist for The Nation, says the state has not ensured the security of soft targets, such as schools. “The federal government has left it to the discretion of the provinces,” she says. Punjab gave guidelines to schools and made them responsible if they do not comply. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa encouraged arming the teachers. “Clearly, this must change if we do not want to keep losing innocent children’s lives,” Gul Bukhari says. “The security of educational institutions at the very least should be made the responsibility of law-enforcement agencies and security agencies.”
Last Friday, the staff of the Bacha Khan University met their vice chancellor, demanding guns for their protection. The next day, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Home Ministry announced free gun licenses for teachers with an “authority letter”.
The province had first started carrying out firearm training for teachers after the APS attack. Assistant Professor Syed Hamid Hussain managed to protect several students at Bacha Khan University with his gun, before he was killed.
“I salute Syed Hamid Hussain’s bravery, but not all of us are that brave,” says a university professor based in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. “We are used to carrying books, not guns. The provincial authorities may give me a gun and teach me how to use it, but it is of no use to me. God forbid, if terrorists attack my institution, I will not be able to do anything with the gun. We are teachers, not soldiers.”
He praised Prof Hamid, but said it was unfair to accept all teachers and students to “wholeheartedly embrace martyrdom’.
“Law enforcement agencies use the word ‘martyr’ to cover up every time they fail to carry out their duty,” he says. “We the teachers and students don’t go to schools, colleges and universities to put our lives on the line. Please don’t glorify the negligence of our security machinery. Schools shouldn’t be battlefields. We shouldn’t have to risk our lives to get education.”
Mrs Hayat, the mother of a student at Peshawar’s University of Engineering and Technology (UET), says she fears sending her son to university again. “He’s already half way through his engineering degree, but I’m seriously reconsidering getting my son admitted somewhere else. We’re hoping he can get his credits transferred to another university outside Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” she says.
Gul Bukhari says teachers should not be asked to protect people’s lives. “This is the state’s job, and has to be done by law-enforcement agencies,” she says. “The state must invest in protecting the lives of students in educational institutions, especially when it is clear that they are a stated target of the enemy. The enemy is organized and superbly trained, and only soldiers and cops can protect us against them.”
“I was traumatized after the APS attack, but everyone said it was a one-off event and that things have changed,” says Mrs Hayat. “The Bacha Khan University attack shows that no university or school is safe. There are now teachers on the campus openly carrying guns. And that is supposed to make us feel secure?”
The premier’s comments came four days after the attack on Bacha Khan University in Charsadda, in which 21 people were killed. The assault resembled the December 2014 attack on Army Public School in Peshawar, which led to the development of the 20-point National Action Plan, formally launched in January 2015.
Opposition leader Khurshid Shah expressed concerns about the ‘non-implementation’ of NAP on Tuesday, accusing the federal government of ‘making no significant progress’.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has announced free gun licenses for teachers
“I ask the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to conduct a judicial investigation into the two tragedies,” He said. “We do not know what actually happened in the Army Public School and Bacha Khan University. What is the outcome of any investigation carried out so far?”
Ayesha Siddiqa, a security analyst and the author of Pakistan’s Arms Procurement and Military Buildup, acknowledges there are problems, but adds that the program may work in some ways. “The problem is, do we have the capacity or the intent?” she says. “The law enforcement is limited in defending all soft targets. There are too many of them.”
Gul Bukhari, an analyst and a columnist for The Nation, says the state has not ensured the security of soft targets, such as schools. “The federal government has left it to the discretion of the provinces,” she says. Punjab gave guidelines to schools and made them responsible if they do not comply. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa encouraged arming the teachers. “Clearly, this must change if we do not want to keep losing innocent children’s lives,” Gul Bukhari says. “The security of educational institutions at the very least should be made the responsibility of law-enforcement agencies and security agencies.”
Last Friday, the staff of the Bacha Khan University met their vice chancellor, demanding guns for their protection. The next day, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Home Ministry announced free gun licenses for teachers with an “authority letter”.
The province had first started carrying out firearm training for teachers after the APS attack. Assistant Professor Syed Hamid Hussain managed to protect several students at Bacha Khan University with his gun, before he was killed.
“I salute Syed Hamid Hussain’s bravery, but not all of us are that brave,” says a university professor based in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. “We are used to carrying books, not guns. The provincial authorities may give me a gun and teach me how to use it, but it is of no use to me. God forbid, if terrorists attack my institution, I will not be able to do anything with the gun. We are teachers, not soldiers.”
He praised Prof Hamid, but said it was unfair to accept all teachers and students to “wholeheartedly embrace martyrdom’.
“Law enforcement agencies use the word ‘martyr’ to cover up every time they fail to carry out their duty,” he says. “We the teachers and students don’t go to schools, colleges and universities to put our lives on the line. Please don’t glorify the negligence of our security machinery. Schools shouldn’t be battlefields. We shouldn’t have to risk our lives to get education.”
Mrs Hayat, the mother of a student at Peshawar’s University of Engineering and Technology (UET), says she fears sending her son to university again. “He’s already half way through his engineering degree, but I’m seriously reconsidering getting my son admitted somewhere else. We’re hoping he can get his credits transferred to another university outside Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” she says.
Gul Bukhari says teachers should not be asked to protect people’s lives. “This is the state’s job, and has to be done by law-enforcement agencies,” she says. “The state must invest in protecting the lives of students in educational institutions, especially when it is clear that they are a stated target of the enemy. The enemy is organized and superbly trained, and only soldiers and cops can protect us against them.”
“I was traumatized after the APS attack, but everyone said it was a one-off event and that things have changed,” says Mrs Hayat. “The Bacha Khan University attack shows that no university or school is safe. There are now teachers on the campus openly carrying guns. And that is supposed to make us feel secure?”