Creating divisions

The government must tackle the violence instead of further dividing a district already split by religious differences.

Hangu district in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) has an unfortunate history of sectarian violence that dates back over three decades, but the recent systematic killings of teachers in the area is an increasingly dangerous trend, which targets the basic foundations of society. Once again, on May 13, two teachers were gunned down while going to school. This was the fourth such attack in the district in three months. Earlier, on February 8, a teacher was gunned down and three days later three more teachers were shot dead. In another targeted attack the same month, on February 14, another schoolteacher was killed. Hangu is also the same district where in January this year there was an attempted suicide bombing at a school, killing teenager Aitezaz Hassan Bangash.

All the shootings are reported to be sectarian in nature, in which both Sunni and Shia teachers have died. Another common thread here is that all teachers were shot dead by a 9mm pistol. While the government has largely remained silent, schoolchildren have held several protests. It is a truly miserable when children need to prevent suicide attacks and organise protests against targeted killings, while the police find themselves unable to identify any of the accused. The government has offered one solution, but this will only further disintegrate the area. Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s minister for primary and secondary education told the provincial assembly recently that teachers will now be deployed within the city according to the sect that they belong to. The minister said teachers of one sect are facing problems in going to areas of the other sect.

While the minister seems to be very clear about the problem, the attempt to make transfers in government schools based on sect will only set a very dangerous precedent. The government must, at least, attempt to tackle the rampant violence instead of further dividing a district already split by religious differences. What this country really does not need are officially prescribed sectarian divisions.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 16^th, 2014.

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