School closures confusion

The authorities need to be honest about the real reasons for the closures: security concerns

The cold weather? Really? Schools are to be closed in Punjab because of the weather? Across the country, from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa to Karachi, both state and army schools are closing, mostly till January 31. The reasons for the closure are variously cited as being the cold, or security concerns or a combination of both. The federal and provincial governments would not have taken action such as this without there being something rather more concrete than a non-specific threat to schools. Somewhere amidst the chatter that the agencies and the army monitor round the clock, there was something that concerned those doing the listening to such an extent that they decided school closure was appropriate, and that the weather would be the cover under which the closure was smuggled in.

Whilst there may be agreement that the national security environment has improved in the last year, there is also recognition that though the threat is diminished, it has not gone away. The Bacha Khan attack was a bloody reminder that terrorists are able to move freely among us. They are able to conduct reconnaissance of their targets, organise the logistics of transporting weapons and people, and have a network of safe houses. They do all this under the noses of those whose job it is to counter their activities. Sometimes the various agencies are successful, busting a group before it can act but we hear little of this, hearing only the rattle of gunfire and the detonation of bomb-vests when a group gets in under the radar. Arming teachers is not the answer, neither is it fair to blame school principals whose budgets are notoriously tight for not putting up security cameras or installing electronic gates. Security is the job of the police and other agencies, including the military where it has its own schools — and not untrained civilians. And do not blame the weather either because it looks and sounds foolish. It would be more appropriate if the authorities are more forthright about the reasons given for closure of schools, as well as in the devising of a security policy for educational institutions.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 29^th,  2016.

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