ISLAMABAD, Oct 19: The Human Rights Watch (HRW) has asked the government to take immediate measures for the safety and security of students, teachers, right defenders and schools that are at the risk of attacks.

“Many parts in the country have become most dangerous places for students to go to schools,” HRW’s Pakistan Director Ali Dayan Hasan said on Friday.

“It’s time the authorities understand that expressing outrage alone is not adequate and such attacks will only end if they hold abusers accountable,” he emphasised.

He proposed cooperation among federal and provincial authorities for the creation of an ‘advance rapid response system’ for quickly rebuilding and repairing schools which come under attacks along with the provision of material for resuming the educational process as soon as possible.

In the lean period, students should continue getting lessons through alternative arrangements and also counselling support wherever necessary, the HRW official stressed. “The unity of global condemnation and the speed of response in the wake of Malala’s shooting have been phenomenal but we want the same response if ever a student or school is struck,” Mr Hasan said.

Mentioning various incidences, the HRW said that non-governmental organisation workers in Fata and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were targeted for their contribution towards education.—Reporter