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PILER, PPC condemn terrorists attack on Malala Yousfzai, call for immediate arrest of culprits
KARACI, Oct. 10: Pakistan Peace Coalition (PPC) and Pakistan
Institute of Labour Education and Research (PILER) have strongly condemned the terrorists attack on a girl students’ van, injuring three girls including Malala Yousufzai, a peace activist of Swat who has been struggling for girls education in Swat valley. They demanded the government to immediately arrest the culprits and bring them to books.
In a statement here on Wednesday PILER Executive Director Karamat Ali and PPC Secretary General B. M. Kutty regretted that despite presence of strong contingents of Army in Swat for maintenance of peace along with police and paramilitary forces, the terrorists of Tahrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), who have claimed the responsibility of the firing in Mangora town, shot at the girls after identification of 14-year-old Malala Yousufzai. The terrorists managed to escape easily after the firing incident. “This is utter failure of the law enforcement agencies that despite an Army operation in 2009 the TTP terrorists are roaming around in the rally so freely.
The peace activists demanded the Interior ministry to ensure
security of the human lives in the valley as well as protection of the girls
schools because Taliban had been targeting the schools. During Taliban control over the valley, the terrorists had been threatening the general public of dire consequences in case they sent their girls to schools. They had even bombarded many girls schools in Swat as well to discourage girls education. Malala was promoting girls education in Swat and she got popularity at the international level when she wrote dairies for BBC Urdu with a pen name of Gul Makai before and after the Army operation in Swat. An international children’s advocacy group Kids Rights Foundation nominated Malala for the International Children’s Peace Prize, making her the first Pakistani girl nominated for this award. Sindh government later renamed the Government Girls Secondary School, Mission Road, Karachi as Malala Yousufzai Government Girls Secondary School in her honour.
They urged the Prime Minister and Chief Minister of Khyber Pukhtoonkhawa to increase security of the peace and human rights activists and also take measures to protect government schools in Swat. They advised the government that instead of adopting leniency to terrorists and religious extremists strict actions be taken against all law breakers for restoration complete peace in the area.
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