Threats to Punjabi teachers in Balochistan Schools in the province remain dysfunctional

By Malik Siraj Akbar

QUETTA: The Balochistan Assembly (BA) was told on Saturday about the growing sense of insecurity among Punjabi teachers at the Balochistan Residential College (BRC) in Khuzdar.

A large number of teachers have requested the Ministry of Education for their immediate transfer for security reasons in the wake of a newly unleashed cycle of target killings of teachers, supposedly by Baloch militants who have called upon Punjabis to vacate the province.

During Saturday’s assembly session with Speaker Aslam Bhootani in chair, provincial Minister for Services and General Administration Sardar Sanaullah Zehri drew the attention of the House over the closure of the premier institution in Khuzdar. He said the Residential College in Khuzdar was regarded as one of the best educational institutions in the province but had been closed for several days since the killing of its principal by unidentified armed men.

“The government should quickly reopen the college in order to prevent the wastage of the students’ costly time during the academic year,” he said.

In response, Balochistan Education Minister Shafiq Ahmed Khan told the provincial legislature that this “shockingly dire situation” had emerged after the commencement of target killings of teachers. The government has not shut the college but it cannot function because of the teachers’ unwillingness to discharge their official duty amid insecurity in the wake of target killings.

The principal of the Residential College was gunned down in Khuzdar recently mainly due to his non-Baloch credentials. His killing was followed by the murder of another school teacher in Kalat district, who was charged by Baloch armed groups for defying their call against playing Pakistan’s national anthem and hoisting the national flag in schools.
Daily Times: Sunday, June 28, 2009