APROPOS the above mentioned editorial (April 4). The New York Times also carried news of this horrific atrocity. The ghastly murder of 20 people must serve as a wake- up call for our academia, civil society, religious circles, law enforcement agencies and political leaders.

Our society is mired in ignorance, and this affliction is more pronounced in rural areas which are bastions of superstitious beliefs. They have been abandoned to the mercy of influential people who resist all attempts at bringing these areas into the 21st century materially and academically. Perhaps, the National Action Plan can be extended to these sectors as well.

Another major issue gnawing at our national roots is poverty. This unfortunate incident is a classical expression of poverty. What do our ruling elite have to say about their respective responsibilities? Last but not the least is the lack of a quality education system. This is an issue that needs to be fixed on war-footing. Our rural areas have become breeding grounds for spiritually and psychologically injured men.

To quote Professor Alan Bloom: “Today’s select students know so much less, are so much more cut off from the tradition, are so much slacker intellectually, that they make their predecessors look like prodigies of culture. The soil is ever thinner, and I doubt whether it can now sustain the taller growths.”

Muhammad Arif Khan

Lahore

Published in Dawn, April 6th, 2017