Shame at Midnight
Taliban threaten teachers, free speech on campus
Professor Mujeeb- ur- Rehman, head of University of Peshawar’s English department, received an unusual letter on May 1. It was a sealed missive from Tariq Afridi, commander of the banned Tehreek- e- Taliban Pakistan ( TTP). Afridi accused the university of trying to include author Salman Rushdie’s Shame and Midnight’s Children in its syllabus. “We will send our faithful to silence them ( teachers).” The same day, Sarfraz Khan, head of the Area Study Centre at the university, received a similar letter.
These are no empty threats. Since 2009, militants have kidnapped and murdered teachers in the restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Only a few cases have been reported. Those who managed to secure their freedom, have done so after paying ransom.
In October 2010, the Pakistani Taliban murdered Farooq Khan, vicechancellor of Swat University. A Taliban spokesperson said it was because Farooq Khan was involved in propaganda against them and was writing anti- Taliban books. Teachers, however, believe the vice- chancellor was murdered because he ran a rehabilitation centre for 175 rescued suicide bombers in Swat district.
According to its Bureau of Statistics, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province has 29,907 schools, 233 colleges and seven universities. This is the only province which has been directly targeted by the Taliban. Teachers lament that no specific security measures have been undertaken for schools and colleges. The provincial government has set up one police station with five security officers each at the universities.
Poverty has prevented teachers from moving to other regions. “We have no other option but to stay on,” says a teacher, refusing to be identified. The provincial police seem to be helpless. “The Taliban use ransom money to buy weapons,” a senior police officer in Peshawar told INDIA TODAY.
Sources told INDIA TODAY that the banned jihadi organisation Jamaat- udDawa too launched campaigns across various universities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to lure students towards jihadi activities. The Pakistan Army has been involved in operations against the TTP in the region since 2005. However, it has had little impact on the of kidnappings and murders of teachers in the province.