Overseas visit: Five APS students leave for US

Students have been selected for the programme based on their academic performance

PESHAWAR: At least 10 students from army-run schools, including five from Army Public School on Warsak Road, left for Washington DC on Friday for the International Visitors Leadership Program.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, an Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) spokesperson said students had been selected for the programme based on their academic performance.

“All 10 students left Peshawar for Islamabad Thursday evening,” the spokesperson said. “Friday morning, they boarded a flight at Shaheed Benazir Bhutto International Airport for Washington DC.”

According to the spokesperson, five of these students belong to APS on Warsak Road. “The remaining students belong to another army-run school on Mall Road,” he added.

Travel plan

According to the schedule, the students will visit the US for three weeks. They will visit Washington DC, New York and other major cities and attend classes at various educational institutes in the country.

Cream of the crop

A teacher from the school on Mall Road has confirmed the visit. “Students from both schools are position holders and were selected for the trip because of their academic performance,” he said.

“Some of the students from my school include Waleed, Maryam Shahid and Maryam Jan. They are accompanied by the section head of the school.” However, the names of APS students could not be ascertained. “As far as I know, the APS students who have gone on the trip are position holders, the cream of the crop,” the teacher said.

Out of the loop

Members of the Shuhada Ghazi Forum voiced dissatisfaction over not being consulted about the visit.

When contacted, the forum’s president Abid Raza Bangash said he was neither taken into confidence about which students would be sent on the trip nor consulted about the selection process. “I came to know through the media,” he added.

Qaiser Ali, who leads another faction of the forum, said eight of 10 students are children of high-ranking military officials. “Only two of them are children of civilians,” he added.

Leaders of both factions complained the government has failed to consult them about similar visits in the past. Furthermore, it has also not informed them about events held in memory of APS victims.

“I met the principal and informed her about our grievances,” Ali said. “Members of both factions are disappointed over the government and school management’s policies.”

Narrow interests

However, a father who lost his son in the APS massacre told The Express Tribune miscreant elements were misusing the forum to serve their narrow interests.

“There are some people who introduce themselves as office-holders but have no links with the victims,” he said. “Their children aren’t even enrolled at the school.”

Published in The Express Tribune, July 25^th, 2015.