MANSEHRA: The schoolchildren vowed to continue getting education at any cost as educational institutions were reopened in the district on Thursday.

“We are ready to face the enemies who are scared of us and targeting schoolchildren but we want to tell them that we would not leave our education and face them boldly,” said a student at Jinnah Basic School and College.

The district administration after consultative meetings on security with heads of private and public schools in the wake of terrorist attack on Army Public School in Peshawar had announced reopening of schools in the district on January 15.

Although policemen were not seen standing outside the schools, yet security guards hired by private schools were guarding the gates of educational institutions.

The administrations of schools and colleges in the district have taken adequate security measures to cope with any untoward situation.

The students, who participated in morning assembly in Jinnah Basic School and College, told journalists that they were happy over reopening of their schools.

A students of sixth grade said that terrorists could not stop them from getting education and they would join school at any cost. A girl student said that terrorists were attacking schoolchildren despite the fact no religion allowed its followers to target the children and women.

FORUM: DPO Ijaz Khan has asked religious scholars to create awareness among the people that Islam is religion of peace and there is no room for violence and acts of terrorism in it.

Addressing an open forum in Oghi on Thursday, he said that terrorists were using the name of Islam to avoid wrath of people. He said that government was using all its resources to get rid of terrorists but at the same time it was also the responsibility of religious scholars to expose the ugly face of terrorists.

The traders, ulema, lawyers and people from different walks of life attended the forum and apprised the DPO regarding law and order situation in Oghi tehsil.

The DPO said that the forum was aimed at exchanging views with people of the tehsil as police wanted to take all segments of society on board to cope with terrorism. He said that terrorists were targeting children and in such a situation ulema should deliver sermons at mosques to foil the evil designs of their enemies.

He said that there should be at least 5,500 policemen in the district but currently there were only 1,400 to protect people. “We are facing shortage of police personnel in the district,” he added.

Religious scholars including Qari Abdul Rasheed, Qari Matiullah, Mufti Mujeebur Rehman and Syed Hayat Shah also spoke on the occasion.

Qari Abdul Rasheed strongly condemned terrorist attack on army public school in Peshawar and said that government should expel Afghan refugees from the country if it wanted to get rid of terrorism. “We want immediate repatriation of Afghan refugees to their homeland. If it is not possible immediately, then restrict them to their camps as these people are involved in all sorts of crimes,” he said.

Published in Dawn, January 16th, 2015

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