PESHAWAR: Suspected militants have warned female teachers and students in Peshawar to wear veil and accompany male members of their families while going schools, or face action.

A resident of the Achini village (upper), who asked not to be named, told Dawn that suspected militants had sent threatening letters more than once to the people of the area asking them to spend one year with a Tablighi jamaat but the residents had said they were poor and had to work to earn livelihood for their families.

“They again contacted the people, especially the well-off, to pay donations to them from Rs50,000 to Rs100,000 and had collected huge amounts from the people,” a source said.

During their visit to the Government Girls’ Primary School in Achini on Wednesday, armed men, who were about one dozen in number, asked the women to wear veil, the source said.

He said the militants also warned men in the area to wear caps, or face action.

“They also fired on a boy who was not wearing cap and tried to flee, but he luckily escaped,” he said.The source said the female teachers had informed higher officials of the education department about the incident and said they would not attend to their duties in such uncertain situation. The teachers, he said, had demanded protection. The Sarband police station, when contacted for their version on the issue, could not give a satisfactory reply and said police personnel were doing their duties well.

An official said the Achini village was close to the Bara tehsil of the Khyber Agency and militants were openly roaming in that area, but were not entering Peshawar.
Source: Dawn
Date:4/30/2009