January 19, 2008	Saturday	Muharram 09, 1429

KARACHI, Jan 18: After shocking scares at various government buildings, sensitive installations and the Karachi Stock Exchange, a bomb threat was delivered to one of the city’s boarding schools, forcing the management to send 300 boarders back to their homes in different parts of the country.

According to the management of the Prince Ali Boys and Muhammadi Girls Secondary School and sources in the police’s Bomb Disposal Squad, one of the school’s senior officials received a call from an unidentified person, threatening a bomb blast in the hostel within a week.

“The call sparked panic in the management, which decided to temporarily close its boarding facilities and send the students back to their guardians in Karachi and in other parts of the country,” said a source close to the events during the week-long ordeal. “The management then called the area police – the Al-Falah police station – which arranged for a team of the Bomb Disposal Squad to investigate the threat. However, it proved to be a scare since the team did not find any explosives in the entire school building.”

Located on the National Highway between Malir city and Quaidabad, the school offers boarding facilities to orphans as well.

The source told Dawn that although the bomb disposal squad pronounced the building clear of explosives, the senior officials of the school were so unnerved that they did not feel it was wise to call the hostel students back. As a result, the students’ studies were being affected.

“The ages of the hostel students range all the way from Prep to matric,” the source said, pointing out that the bomb hoax had also terrified the regular day-students and most were not ready to return to school.

One of the school’s staff members said, similarly, that the teaching and management staff were also confused and apprehensive in the wake of being informed about the threat.

“One of our sections, which is close to the hostels, was moved to another building,” said the staffer. “When the teachers asked why this was being done, they were initially not informed of the facts but it later emerged that the management had received a bomb threat.”

Series of bomb hoaxes

The school’s nervousness is not surprising given that the city has suffered a series of bomb threats after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto on Dec 27 in Rawalpindi.

The first of these was a rumour on the first day of the new year, that the headquarters of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement at Nine Zero had been attacked. Several areas of the city shut down as the misinformation spread.

Then, last week, the Karachi Stock Exchange received a call from an unknown person threatening that the share market would be targeted within an hour. The call proved to be a scare only, since the bomb disposal squad scanned the building and found no explosives; however, trading remained suspended for over an hour.

On Thursday, dozens of ambulances of different charity organisations rushed to the Sindh High Court after having received ‘news’ that there had been a bomb blast. They were turned back by the security staff since there had been no explosion or bomb threat.

The same day, terminal 1 of the Quaid-e-Azam International Airport and a nearby hotel had to be scanned by the bomb disposal squad after a bomb scare caused panic and the area was vacated. A large number of fire tenders and ambulances also reached the spot to meet an emergency situation that turned out to be a hoax.

Advisory issued

The latest threat, made to Prince Ali Boys and Muhammadi Girls Secondary School, appears far more sinister and cannot be taken lightly.

“The boarders’ classes will resume after the Ashura,” said Siddiq Awan, the principal of school. “The hostel is home to 160 girls and 140 boys who are orphans from northern parts of the country and have been adopted by different people.”

He told Dawn that the boarding superintendent received the threatening call almost a week ago, which pushed them to take precautionary measures and send the students to their guardians until the Ashura holidays.

“But we kept the school open for the 2,400 regular students,” he said. “We did not want to get scared from such calls or terrify the children and their parents. That is why we continued to hold classes and by Monday, the boarders will be back in the hostels as well.”

Set up over many acres, the school provides separate buildings for boys, girls and the prep sections. Hostel facilities for boys and girls are also provided within the same premises. Founded in 1952 by Ismaili Youth Services, the school enrols hundreds of students every year and offers admission on an open merit basis. “The area police have set up a picket outside the school and have increased their mobile surveillance,” said Javed Meher, SP Shah Faisal Town. “We asked the school management to be calm and sensible and not take any decisions in haste. They have been cooperating and with the help of the bomb disposal squad, we have scanned the building several times.”

He said that although the school hostel had been vacated and the students had been sent to their homes, the police had issued an advisory to the school management for the days ahead.

The threat to an educational institution, which also serves purposes of social welfare, has caused great concern amongst parents, children and police authorities.