HYDERABAD: Educational institutions could not be held responsible for the one-off case of Naureen Laghari— a second-year student of Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences who was radicalised and travelled to Syria to join the Islamic State (IS), then came back to Pakistan and went to Lahore as part of a militant network.
These views were expressed by Hyderabad Police DIG Khadim Hussain Rind, while talking to media, after inaugurating the Phuleli Police station’s renovated building and a reporting centre on Saturday.
SSP Hyderabad Irfan Baloch, SP Headquarters Abid Baloch, ASP Zahida Parveen and other officials also attended the ceremony.
The DIG police also denied the presence of terrorist or extremist elements in educational institutions.
“I will not say that someone is propagating such activities in the universities. These days one can have access from their homes to different websites,” he observed with reference to Laghari who allegedly came into contact with terrorists through the internet.
“We interviewed her (Laghari’s) friends and classmates. They are educated and we found no problem with them. I also sent ASP Zahida Parveen to her home to interview her parents, brother and sister. But, they weren’t inclined towards religious extremism,” said the DIG.
It is also a responsibility of the parents to monitor activities of their children on the internet, he added.
“They should ensure that children surf safely,” he suggested.
Rind credited the Hyderabad police under SSP Irfan Baloch for making the district a peaceful city.
Talking about the centre, the DIG said it was aimed to provide hassle free service to the citizen who could register initial report about a crime, obtain character certificate, and inform the policy about tenancy agreement and report about missing things, among other issues.