Countering the terror threat in Pakistan

Lahore: The terrorist attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar shocked the nation, but for the first time in the history of Pakistan it united all sections of society with the resolve to fight back terrorists, who threatened to attack more schools.

In a knee-jerk reaction, it was announced teachers and guards of schools would be given gun training. Images of female teachers being trained to use shot guns and assault rifles were picked up by the media. It was the first time something like this was happening.

Security expert Ahsan Zawar said the idea to give training was to deter terrorists. “We should seriously consider whether it can work or not. I would say that keeping a gun itself is a dangerous thing considering it can go off accidentally.

“KPK government gave training to some teachers, but that cannot be fruitful even if the policy continues because a teacher cannot match the skills of a trained terrorist. If the teacher is provided with a gun, he would be carrying limited amount of bullets, whereas a terrorist always attacks with plenty of ammunition.

“A reactionary approach should be avoided. The guards of schools should be trained and given arms, but teachers and students should instead be given crisis management training. Giving guns to teachers will have bad psychological impact on them as well as the students,” said Zawar.

Chief City Police Officer Lahore Capt (Retd) Mohammad Ameen Vaince said the police force was vigilant and devising new strategies to counter threats from terrorists. “We are using all resources to beef up security. There is no plan to give training to teachers. We are training schools guards and gatekeepers. The most vulnerable institutions are being given priority. The A grade schools of private sector, missionary schools and co-education schools and girls schools and colleges are being given priority. The training of guards is an ongoing process. After training we are also providing them licences and weapons.

“The headmaster, headmistresses and some other staff members of every high school have been given cell phones with special SIMs. They just have to press the button in case of emergency and help will be immediately provided.

“We are strictly monitoring instructions given to educational institutions e.g., walls should be raised to at least eight feet with barbed wire installed by proper professionals. All schools that have more than 500 students have been advised to install CCTV cameras and most work in this regard is complete,” Vaince said.

Besides the above mentioned steps, efforts are afoot to prepare for the worst to minimise damage in case of any untoward incident. Public Relations Officer of emergency service Rescue 1122 Jam Sajjad Hussain said a community based disaster risk management had been established. “In collaboration with national disaster management authority and national institute of disaster management CBDRM was set up. One week programmes for all rescue and safety officers have been held. Training will also be held for headmasters, teachers and students to train them in evacuating from the building as well as how to make exit routes in times of emergency,” Hussain said while emphasising on the need for preventive measures.