Death is the price of Education in Pakistan

Four children killed in school wall collapse

You have heard that constant vigilance is the price of Liberty. It may be true or not. But, death is, of course, the price of education in Pakistan. How? Please read the following story published in the daily DAWN, Karachi; and see what is happening here on this land.

Four children, aged between five and nine years, were killed on Thursday when a wall of their old school building collapsed on Manora Island, witnesses said. They said four students of the F.G. Public School, three of them sons of as many brothers and the fourth one also their cousin, were having snacks during a recess under the shade of the wall of the dilapidated building when the wall collapsed with a big bang at around 11am, killing the little ones instantly. The residents said the old building of the school had been vacated some six years ago and the school was shifted to the new building constructed around 50 yards away. They said the cantonment authorities were time and again approached for the demolition of the dilapidated building, but they paid no heed to their requests. Sami Khan, a six-year-old student of the F.G. Public School, told Dawn that he was sitting very close to the wall that collapsed. “It was extremely hot today and everybody like Arbab and his cousins was looking for a shady place,” he said and added that the wall collapsed in the twinkling of an eye with a big bang, giving the victims no chance to run to safety. Five-year-old Abid Ali, who also witnessed the heart-wrenching incident, said he was sitting yards away from the wall. “I heard a deafening sound and then saw blocks and rubble where some children were having snacks a moment ago,” he added. The witnesses said that a large number of the residents of the 2.5-square-kilometre peninsula thronged the spot and retrieved the bodies of nine-year-old Arbab, son of Mohammed Shoaib, six-year-old Adnan, son of Nisar Ahmed, six-year-old Taimur, son of Zafar Ali, and five-year-old Fardeen Khan, son of Rahim. Abdul Aleem, one of the residents who reached the spot to retrieve the bodies, told Dawn that the heads of the children had been smashed under the rubble. The bodies were taken to a nearby naval hospital before they were handed over to the victims’ families. The victim Arbab’s father, Mohammed Shoaib, a worker at the KPT’s engineering department, said Adnan and Taimur were the sons of his younger brothers, and Fardeen was his daughter’s son. “I rushed to the spot and learned that the bodies had been shifted to the hospital,” he said in a voice choking with grief. “They did not let me see the children at hospital until I protested. The children’s heads were smashed and their faces disfigured,” he said. “Arbab did not want to go to school today as he wanted to play a new video game that I had bought him only yesterday,” the grieving father said with tears rolling down his cheeks. He said the boy went to school without his uniform and joined his cousins during the recess as usual. “Who is responsible for the killing of our innocent children?” he cried and demanded that the responsible people must be brought to book to avoid such accidents in future. Nisar Ahmed, victim Adnan’s father, said the entire building was dangerously dilapidated and any portion could have fallen down anytime. “But the condition of the collapsed wall was particularly dangerous and we had asked the school administration to get the building demolished as soon as possible,” he added. The victim’s father, who runs a small eatery on the peninsula, said Adnan wan the eldest among his four children. “The fatal accident could have been averted had this building been demolished. But nobody can avert the decree of fate,” a comparatively composed man said. The witnesses said the teaching staff of the school remained confined to the staff room for some time as the visibly shaken and enraged people surrounded the school building. However, they said, the people later dispersed peacefully when the elders of the area intervened and convinced them that the school administration was not responsible for the demolition of the worn-out building. Shahid Rana, a resident, told Dawn that the peninsula was replete with dilapidated structures, adding that any of them could collapse any time. He pointed to an overhead water tank and said: “This tank has been declared to be dangerous enough to be demolished, but perhaps the authorities are just waiting for the moment when it will collapse itself,” he remarked. Abdul Aleem, another resident, said the roof of Ghazi Centre, a two-storey commercial-cum-residential plaza, had once collapsed, though no one was hurt in the incident. The SHO of Docks police, Inspector Nasirul Hasan, said no legal action was initiated into the matter as it was an accident.

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Four children killed as wall collapses in Manora school

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PAKISTAN: Two persons murdered after an anchor person proposed the widespread lynching of Ahmadi sect followers

Dear

(1) Mr. Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani,
(2) Mr. Rehman Malik,
(3) Dr. Ishrat-ul-Ebad Khan,
(4) Syed Qaim Ali Shah,
(5) Chief Justice of Sindh High Court,
(6) Ms. Nadia Gabol,
(7) Secretary, CPSD
(8) Dr. Zulfiqar Ali Mirza,

PAKISTAN: Two persons murdered after an anchor person proposed the widespread lynching of Ahmadi sect followers

Details of victims:

1. Dr. Abdul Manan Siddiqui, 45 years old; shot dead in the Fazle Umer Clinic, a two-story hospital at Mirpur Khas city on September 8

2. Mr. Yousaf, 75 years old; rice trader and district chief of the Ahmadi sect; shot dead in Nawab Shah, Sindh province

Persons involved in broadcasting:

1. Dr. Aamir Liaquat Hussain, Anchor person of Alim Online, Geo Television, Karachi-Pakistan

2. The producer of Alim Online, Geo Telvision, Karachi-Pakistan

I am writing you to draw your attention to and request prompt action regarding the latest incident of Ahmadi lynchings, as urged on a popular and seemingly unregulated Pakistani television program. The Anchor person, also former federal minister for religious affairs suggested that the followers be killed as punishment for their religious views.

According to the information that I have received, Dr. Amir Liaquat Hussain declared the murder of Ahmadi sect members to be necessary (Wajib ul Qatal) according to Islamic teachings, in 'Alam Online', aired on September 7, 2008. Dr. Amir repeated his instruction several times, urging fundamentalists Muslims to kill without fear.

While on air the anchor person also pressured the other two Islamic scholars (from two different sects) on the program to support the statement. This resulted in a unanimous decision among the scholars, on air during a popular television show, to urge lynching with the intent to kill. This was not a one-off. On September 9 Mr Hussain answered a query with the comment that blasphemers are liable to be put to death.

The killings On September 8 at 1:15 pm, 18 hours after the broadcast, six persons entered the Fazle Umer Clinic, a two-storey hospital at Mirpur Khas city. Two of them went to the second floor and started pressuring 45 year-old Dr. Abdul Manan Siddiqui to come downstairs to attend to a patient in crisis. Dr. Manan left his office and descended into an ambush. He was shot 11 times and died on the spot. His private guard was also shot and is in a serious condition. A woman was also injured by firing. The killers remained at the hospital until the doctor was declared dead, then they walked out of the building's front entrance. Police registered the killers as unknown.

On September 9, 48 hours after the broadcast, Mr. Yousaf, a 75 years old rice trader and district chief of the Ahmadi sect was killed on his way to prayers in Nawab Shah, Sindh province. Yousaf was fired on from people on motor bikes, and sustained three bullet wounds. He died on the way to the hospital. The assailants had taken a route past a police station. No one has been arrested.

It is the responsibility of a government to tackle religious hatred, yet in Pakistan it flourishes. That it can bloom so publicly and has results both bloody and unpunished, is an embarrassment to a country that hopes to be taken seriously outside of its borders. While religious persons can incite murder on mainstream television shows without restraint or legal consequence, a country cannot hope to be considered mature. Neither can its leaders.

In this context I demand that the government of Pakistan take immediate steps to stop further killings by other religious communities and to investigate the two cases reported above. Those responsible for the killings must be prosecuted and punished according to the law. Immediate measures to prohibit broadcasting and spreading religious hatred through the media.

I further urge you to investigate those responsible for instigating murders through media broadcast. I also demand for a genuine and humane effort to be made to reintegrate the Ahmadi community into the social fabric of Pakistan. Their civil, human and religious rights must be protected. The government must take the lead to create a space for dialogue between opposing religious communities in Pakistan there by bringing an end to religious and communal violence in the country.

Yours sincerely,

Ghulam Mustafa Lakho
Pakistan