Attack on girls school: Police refuse to take action against moral brigade
As fear grips municipal committee school students and teachers, the Rawalpindi police seem to be unmoved and reluctant to take any action against the moral brigade who attacked a girls school last week and thrashed and terrorised students and teachers.
The police have refused to register an FIR against the seminary students who attacked Municipal Committee Girls’ School in Satellite Town on Friday last.
(Read: Dress modestly - Masked men enter girls’ school, thrash students)
The Station House Officer (SHO) of the New Town Police Station Ijaz Hussain Shah when contacted by The Express Tribune, justified the ‘barbaric’ act. According to him it was not an offence as the masked men were protesting the conviction of the assassin of the Punjab Governor.
“They also attacked other educational institutions,” he insisted.
SHO Shah did not make any comment on why the police were reluctant to take any action against the ‘moral brigade’ who were involved in attacking the educational institutions.
“We have identified the culprits but we can’t take any action against them,” said a police official requesting not to be named. “We have been instructed by the higher ups not to take any action against them,” he said. It was also learnt that the district administration has asked the school teachers not to share the incident’s details with the media.
The school administration confirmed that the Punjab government has not taken notice of the incident so far. They said that only 24 out of 834 girl students attended the school on Monday after the attack last week.
An official of a nearby seminary, ‘Ziaul Aloom’, admitted that some of their students were involved in similar activities and had been strictly warned to refrain from such acts. “They will not create trouble in future,” he assured.
Sixty masked men carrying iron rods barged into the Municipal Commity Girls High School and thrashed students and teachers on Friday, when the city was virtually under the control of religious groups and seminary students who were protesting conviction of the assasin of Punjab Governor Salman Taseer.
According to witnesses the gang warned the students and 30 teachers to “dress modestly and wear hijabs.”
Talking about the incident majority of the teachers said it was a daunting task for them to remove the fear from the traumatised students as well as teachers.
A large number of students approached the school administration through their parents, informing them that they would not attend classes for some days, said a teacher at the MC Girls Model High School.
“My daughter Madeeha Durrani, a student of class 8, refused to go to school as she feared the masked men could attack again,” said Muhammad Aftab Najmi who teaches at the MC Boys Model High School. Najmi stated that he was thrashed by the men while in the classroom. “They broke my glasses and snatched books from me and the students threatening us of dire consequences.” Relating details of the untoward incident, the teachers said it was a horrible day with students crying and rushing out of the school in fear.
The MC High Schools in-charge through a notification asked the heads of all girls’ schools to take pre-emptive measures to avoid such incidents in future.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 11th, 2011.
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I am shocked beyond belief about what is happening in Pakistan now. It's time we took matters into our own hands. These school children need to be taught how to protect themselves. Martial arts or even a few iron rods. They need to be taught that they need to fight back!
Another nail in Pakistani civilization's coffin.
we want musharaf back . he is the best man for this job.
This is like watching a horror movie. Government of Punjab using Qadri case to destabilise the central government it seems.
Which shameless fellow ordered not to take action on the culprit criminals. We tax-payers got the right to know the truth. Imran Khan, where are you hiding?
Please, my humble request to whoever is in Pakistan, please protest against this barbarity before it is too late. Our future, literally, is at stake here.
What a shameful, barbaric act. Any you call yourselves Muslims?
Why don’t I see the so-called good folks massively marching in the streets protesting this action? Anytime foreigners have or even tangentially offended Pakistan, thousands of the so-called good Muslims take to the streets and burn the offending country’s Embassy or what not. Heck, the foreigners do not even have to have been involved with the offence, you just need some demagogue politician or mullah to whip public resentment and the mindless, non-thinking mobs come out, while the so called silent majority (if there is such a thing in Pak) sits back. So, back to the original question: Where are the so-called good Muslims? Or, are there any in Pakistan? Or, are they cowed by the demagogues and their disciples?
Look here, Pakistan will remain in the stone age, or near stone age as long as such behavior, in the feudal parts of the country keeps on going and remains unpunished.
Shameful thing is that this barbarianism is conducted in name of Islam. I fail to understand how these acts can be justified by Quran and Sunnah. And why the majority population and administration is fearful of tackling these bullies who thrive on our donations and pity. May be people will only act once these brigades start to enter homes to impose their views.
Here We Go! new Laal masjid in progres!!!!
So if the children and teachers are treated according to what they wear it's only fair that all men wearing masks and carrying guns are as well. Taking statistics into consideration... Treating them as criminals and jailing them would be the most appropriate and fair way to do so. Also since the children and teachers were condemned without a second thought... The men get to go to jail immediately without a trial, too.
Dear Pakistan, I love you with all my heart, and I seriously wish that for once this disunited and mentally unstable nation would take a fleeting look at the current condition they have brought you to with their ceaseless bickering over crappy issues, while no one pays any attention to getting united against barbarianism and terrorism and extremism. I don't know how our future generations will be able to relate to us "current Pakistanis" with any sense of pride, because honestly speaking, I know I wouldn't deserve to be respected if I don't act now against these animals. I promise to do all that I can to improve your situation at whatever cost, and for once I hope some of these other Pakistanis stand up to.
Always and always yours, THA
Unbelievable!!!! This is nothing but complete insanity! Who are we going to blame now? America, India, Israel, Illuminati? This is like taking a giant chainsaw and chopping of your own legs with it! In Paksitan its a miracle that children get educated and that to in the case of girls. The last thing we need is for vigilantes to get away with what they please! These children are our future! Scare them away now we will not have the educated doctors, engineers, economists, entrepreneurs in the future! We are doomed if the status quo continues and no amount of patriotic songs on the television is going to help us reclaim our future!