SHAFAQNA PAKISTAN (Shia News Agency)
In the aftermath of the APS attack, Government at once extended the leaves of the schools and issued strict orders for the security of the schools. Barring the private sector institutions that may afford exorbitant costs, the public and ‘not for profit’ sector institutions are finding it very difficult to meet the recommendations of official evaluation teams due to financial constraints. Yet the list of dos and don’ts keeps inflating. Filling of blanks to absolve responsibility and affix blame is the norm.
One unfortunate aspect of this outsourced security is reliance on poorly trained guards who carry extremely inferior weaponry. Pump action guns with limited range are no defence against modern weaponry. In repeated incidents, like the one in Islamabad on 18th September, these guards are outranged and out gunned. In most cases, they have no communications with their parent companies. Guards equipped with automatic ball ammunition weapons are very expensive that most institutions cannot afford. This false sense of security is criminal neglect. Something is bound to happen.
To bolster this privatised security, efforts by local police are insufficient. Police mobiles even if posted are lethargic and revert easily to the business of checking vehicles and bribes. Within the civil society, ward vigilance (chowkedari) and coordination is missing. The civil administration has yet to form committees of local communities. Municipal corporations and cantonment boards that fill the gap of local bodies are bureaucratic and bossy. Even the district coordination officers have outsourced their responsibilities to education officers through long check lists. ‘All is well’ till something happens is the ugly reality.
pakistan.shafaqna.com
