Protecting future generations: Special force to guard schools

Retired army personnel to ensure security of students, teachers

PESHAWAR:

A special force will be formed to guard educational institutes in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) and the rest of the country, a senior official of the home department told The Express Tribune.

In the wake of the Army Public School (APS) massacre on December 16, 2014, the provincial and federal governments sat down to chalk out a comprehensive security plan for schools and colleges. Many decisions emerged as a result: building taller walls, deploying security guards, procuring walkthrough gates and even arming teachers. Now the federal government has decided to form an additional force.



The home department received recommendations to form a force made up of recently retired army personnel.

The mechanism

The official told The Express Tribune the force will be managed on a federal level by a retired major general. The country head will form teams for all the four provinces and a retired brigadier will lead each of them. Meanwhile, district-level teams are to be led by retired colonels, said the official, requesting anonymity.

“Recently retired army officers, particularly those from the Special Services Group (SSG), will be recruited for the force at the district level,” he said. The official added each colonel would assess the situation in his respective district and recruit personnel according to security needs, size of area and population.

The men who will take charge as the chief of the provincial and federal forces are yet to be decided as the plan is still under discussion, said the official. He expressed his satisfaction over the formation of the additional force, saying the K-P police lacked the strength to guard each and every school of the province.

“We have 64,000 educational institutions and the total number of policemen is just 75,000,” he said. “If we deploy a single member of the force at every institution, police stations will be empty,” he added, stressing on the need for an additional force to guard schools.

Speaking about the effectiveness of the proposed force, the official said retired army officers are security experts and know how to guard sensitive installations. The official added the federal government’s recommended plan may take another 15 days to take practical shape.

“Meetings are under way and the team heads will be selected after consultation with the Pakistan Army. The resources required for the force are also yet to be specified.”

Complying with orders from the home department, the police will also play its role by patrolling roads around educational institutions at opening and closing times.

“Security threats in the province have reached a maximum level after the APS massacre and regular monitoring of security measures by school administration is absolutely necessary,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 29^th, 2015.