VII. Attacks and Threats on Schools

Militants in Balochistan have threatened and carried out attacks on schools, including school buildings filled with students and teachers. The same militant nationalist and sectarian motives that underpin violence against teachers are evident in the attacks on schools. Whatever their motives, such assaults endanger the lives of children and others, and damage the right to access education in safety and security.

Attacks have included arson, and the use of grenades and bombs, and have occurred during the evening as well as the day, while teachers and students are present.

Following an attack on one school, a young teenage student told Human Rights Watch:

I was in the classroom when I heard the explosion. It was very loud … it scared us … I ran to the school yard as soon as we heard the explosion. The classroom windows were shattered. Many students were already in the yard. Many of us didn’t know what had happened. I saw smoke … I heard many children screaming. I think some of them got light injuries because of falling on the pieces of glass when they were running in chaos.… Several teachers were injured. I got really scared when I realized it was a bomb explosion….

My father came to pick me up from the school. I think I was in some kind of shock. I had little energy in my body … when we were on our way to our home, I fainted in the car.

My father wasn’t willing to send me back to school. He still doesn’t feel good about this school [although I have returned]. I like this school. I love my teachers … and I said many times to my father that I wasn’t going to change my school. All my friends are still coming to the school. But I still feel scared sometimes. I think most children are still scared….

My education has been affected because mentally most of us have gone through a shock. I think everybody’s education is affected…. I think some of the students did not take the final exams….

My family often discusses my safety at home… at times with our neighbor too. We used to talk about it more frequently … but every time there is an incident at some school or an attack against a teacher or professor… it refreshes everyone’s concerns at home … we begin to feel scared. My parents worry about my safety when I am at school….

The truth is, I really want things to improve so we continue our studies without any fear. This incident has scared everyone. Our teachers are scared too. It was a terrible incident.[88]

Teachers at one school complained that many months after an attack on their school, they still had not received any financial assistance from the government to help repair damage to the school’s infrastructure.[89]

Attacks on Schools

Human Rights Watch was unable to obtain data from local provincial government officials on the number of schools attacked in the province in past years. However, from interviews with eyewitnesses and a survey of public news reports, Human Rights Watch was able to collect basic details of attacks (listed below in reverse chronological order). Fearing further attacks, none of the teachers or students whom Human Rights Watch interviewed wanted it known that individuals from their school had talked with our researchers.

2010

2009

2008

Other Threats from Nationalist Groups

Militant Baloch nationalist groups have threatened teachers and school administrators in order to prevent standard school practices such as the teaching of Pakistani history, flying the Pakistani flag, and singing the national anthem. For example, on October 25, 2010, the Balochistan Liberation Front threw pamphlets into educational institutions in the province, warning teachers and staff not to sing Pakistan’s national anthem or to hoist the national flag. The pamphlets warned that there would be serious consequences for noncompliance.[113]

An education official said:

I think one thing may directly affect children’s work and that is schools in many Baloch areas are forced to stop teaching Pakistan Studies [Pakistan history and geography]. Even the local teachers … even those who are Baloch hesitate to teach this subject because it could put their lives at risk.[114]

One teacher told Human Rights Watch: “We have not been hoisting the Pakistani flag.… You know, most schools out of fear of being attacked do not hoist Pakistani flags. Following other schools, we no longer have the national anthem in our morning assemblies.”[115]

Another teacher told us: “The overall security situation has affected our school activities. For example we used to celebrate Pakistan Day on March 23 and the Independence Day on August 14 every year by holding activities in which students participate. But now we don’t do any activities on either occasion.”[116]

Such threats are not idle. Following the murder of Anwar Baig, a senior teacher in Kalat, on June 13, 2009, a BLA spokesperson explained Baig was targeted because he opposed the recitation of the Baloch nationalist anthem in school and did not want to hoist  the nationalist flag instead of the Pakistani flag.[117]

Threats against Schools from Islamist Militants

Some schools have also received threats from what appear to be Islamic militant groups. For example, a private school in Gwadar district received a threatening letter demanding that the school stop allowing girls and boys to study together at the school.[118]

In May 2010, Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, an Islamist militant group, threatened to attack all private schools in Mastung district of Balochistan if they did not replace the existing “Western-style” uniform with the local dress of shalwar kameez (loose-fitting pants combined with a long shirt). Female students were instructed to observe full Islamic hijab. The group distributed leaflets among private schools in the district, and included a two-day ultimatum for the schools to change their practice. The organization warned of “horrifying consequences” if their directive was not obeyed.[119]