QUETTA: A grand jirga will be held in Panjgur on Thursday to deliberate on the closure of private schools and English language centres after threats hurled by a religious group.

The jirga will be attended by people of all walks of life, including political and religious leaders, members of civil society, teachers, elders and women.

“The jirga will discuss the issue in detail and announce future line of action in view of threats being hurled by (a hitherto) unknown religious organisation to owners and managements of private schools,” Zahir Hussain Baloch, an educationist running a private school in Panjgur, told Dawn.

All private schools and English language centres have been closed in Turbat in Panjgur because owners are receiving threats from an extremist organisation called “Tenzeem Islami-al-Furqan”.

“The organisation is asking owners to stop educating girls at their institutions. We had no other option but to close our schools and language centres,” he said.

A grand jirga in Panjgur will discuss today closure of private schools after threats hurled by an extremist organisation named Tenzeem Islami-al-Furqan

Several thousand people taking part in a rally on Wednesday carried placards and banners inscribed with slogans like “we will not accept ban on female education”, “we want safe education” and “education is the right of girls”.

On the occasion, speakers condemned the threats and said these were part of a conspiracy to deprive girls of education.

They said that people of Makran would not bow to extremist elements.

They also demanded of the provincial government to take action against such elements.

They said that participants of the jirga would decide how to meet the challenge jointly.

Published in Dawn, May 22nd, 2014