LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Thursday directed the Punjab government to revisit security arrangements for educational institutes across the province and submit a comprehensive report about standard operating procedures (SOPs) adopted after the Peshawar school tragedy.

Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah observed that it was a national issue as lives of younger generation were at stake and their parents were worried about their security.

The judge said it was a good omen that students were going to school despite security threats and the government should have completed security arrangements before opening all the schools.

Zain Sikander advocate, who has a daughter of schoolgoing age, filed the petition, questioning the reopening of schools. He said the parents, the major stakeholders, should be kept informed about the implementation of the SOPs and report be submitted in the court about the security arrangements.

Special Secretary Home Syed Wajahat Hamdani, Special Secretary Schools Muhammad Gulzar and Lahore Capital City Police Officer Amin Wains appeared before the court on a short notice.

The special secretary home stated classification of schools had been done, keeping in view the security threats and the vulnerable ones had been given priority. He said Rs2bn had been provided by the government for provision of security gadgets like metal detectors, walkthrough gates and closed-circuit cameras (CCTVs). He further said the monitoring teams had also been constituted under supervision of the district coordination officers (DCOs) in Punjab and reports were being collected on a daily basis.

The special secretary schools told the court boundary walls of educational institutes were being raised and the work was being monitored by all the secretaries and a daily report in this regard was being sent to the chief minister. He said security of sensitive schools had been beefed up and special branch officials had also been deputed there.

The Lahore CCPO said the issue had been prioritised and efforts were afoot to update the security paraphernalia.

Justice Shah adjourned the hearing until Jan 19 and announced holding in camera proceedings in view of the sensitivity of the matter.

Published in Dawn, January 16th, 2015

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