Put down your weapons

The Indus Valley School of Art (IVS) and Architecture recently became the first university in Karachi to declare itself a ‘weapons-free zone’. Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS), too, has followed suit and has vowed to eradicate weapons from its campus. These are excellent initiatives that should be extended to colleges and universities around the country. This decision by the two institutions comes after an appeal by Citizens Against Weapons forum, which launched a campaign last year to demand the reduction in the number of weapons in society, particularly at health and educational institutions. In recent years, there has been a sharp increase in the number of weapons one sees in schools and colleges. This trend has been particularly accentuated after the attack on the Army Public School, Peshawar, last December. From kindergartens to universities, snipers on rooftops and security gates at entrances welcome students.

We have become a society that finds more comfort around weapons, raising a generation that is in uncomfortably close proximity to guns. To ensure the security of various establishments, adding to the number of weapons on their premises is not necessarily the answer. Deploying a large number of gun-toting security personnel does not come with the promise that security will be ensured. It must be recalled that a teacher in Swat accidentally shot a 12-year-old student in June while cleaning his gun in school. More often than not, a weaponised society only provides a false sense of security. As has been witnessed all too often, areas with the strictest security are also vulnerable to terror attacks. The least we can do is at least ensure that our educational institutions do no become heavily weaponised areas. We hope that other institutions follow the example set by IVS and DUHS, and become places where guns are unwelcome. Schools and colleges should be spaces that provide safety and freedom of movement for students. The presence of guns does not foster such an environment.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 11^th, 2015.

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