HRCP demands transparent inquiry into attack on girls’ schools in FATA

Press release

HRCP demands transparent inquiry into attack on girls’ schools in FATA

Lahore, 11 May 2018. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has demanded the government investigate the recent attack on two girls’ schools in North Waziristan Agency. According to reports in the media – verified independently by HRCP’s sources– the school buildings were damaged in two separate bomb explosions on 7 May and 9 May. Residents also report that a militant group has been distributing pamphlets warning them not to send their ‘grownup’ daughters to school. While the local administration appears unwilling to confirm these incidents, HRCP’s sources indicate that residents of North Waziristan have expressed concerns about the reemergence of militant groups in the area.

In a statement issued today, HRCP has strongly condemned these developments: ‘The Commission is appalled to learn that residents are being threatened openly for sending their daughters to school. The state is constitutionally and morally obliged to ensure that every child in Pakistan can attend school: no individual or group has any right to prevent this.

‘Such incidents only serve to roll back FATA’s hard-won, fragile peace at a time when internally displaced persons have begun to return home. In the interest of people’s right to know and to help allay their anxiety, HRCP urges the authorities to investigate the situation swiftly and transparently, and make their findings public.’

 

Dr Mehdi Hasan

Chairperson

 

Category: English