Response to ATI attack: Communication says ICU admin took instant measures to secure students

PESHAWAR: The Islamia College University (ICU) administration took instant measures to ensure students security when the terrorists had attacked the nearby Agriculture Training Institute (ATI) that unfortunately left nine people dead and several injured.
A communication issued by the ICU on Monday stated that while security forces were countering the terrorists who had attacked the ATI, located in front of Gate No: 1 of ICU, on December 1, its Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr Habib Ahmad along with security staff and senior teachers was visiting boys and girls hostels to inspect security towers and check posts to ensure safety and security of university’s inmates and to encourage boys and girls.
It said minutes after heavy fire erupted inside almost a century old ATI building, ICU vice-chancellor was on cell phone contact with the university registrar, director security, admin officer and security officer.
The communication said, incidentally, the residences of vice-chancellor, pro-vice chancellor and registrar are located inside the Islamia College University campus at a distance of hardly 300 yards away from the ATI in northern direction. The volleys of automatic weapons fire and hand grenades explosions were very huge, terrifying and eardrums shattering.
It said the vice-chancellor issued strict directives for closing down all entrances to the university besides tightening security around boys and girls hostels.
Within 15-20 minutes, the ICU security staff members were on hostels rooftops, security towers and on patrolling along the wall of the seat of learning.
The ICU security men were posted on security and watch towers with sub-machine guns and Kalashnikov assault rifles to ward off any danger of terrorist interruption. These security and watch towers had been constructed shortly after Bacha Khan University terrorist incident.
Vice-Chancellor Prof Habib Ahmad, accompanied by Registrar Dr Tauqir Alam, Pro-Vice Chancellor, Prof. Dr. Naushad Khan, Director Security Prof Dr Nisar Mohammad, Admin Officer Irfan Marwat, Security Officer Javed Khan, Principal Islamia Collegiate School Mohammad Tahir, retired professor Qazi Ubaidur Rehman, hostel wardens and senior teacher, first visited two female hostels of the ICU.
The vice-chancellor addressed the girls in the compound of Arbab Behram-Khushal Hostel. He encouraged the girls to be patient and peaceful.
The communication said the vice-chancellor then went to Boys Hostel of Islamia Collegiate School which is a unit of the university. He praised teenagers for their courage who were there as helicopters flew over the campus.
The vice-chancellor praised the hostel warden Mohammad Zeb for carrying gun and guarding the entrance to the boys hostel.
He awarded cash prizes of Rs.1000/- each to five policemen posted at Islamia College Gate No: 1 checkpost.
The vice-chancellor announced to give commendation certificates to these policemen in a ceremony, when one of the policemen informed him that he was first to hear a gunfire sound inside ATI entrance gate, which is visible from ICP police checkpost.
The communication said the police man passed this information on wireless set to Campus Police Control Room. On this information, police staff had rushed to the ATI and took the terrorists in the firing range.
The vice-chancellor inspected all the security points on the Islamia College University campus amid operation going on in the nearby ATI building.
Later, he chaired a security committee meeting in the afternoon. The participants offered fateha for the departed souls of martyrs of ATI terrorist attack. They also paid tributes to the courage, timely and highly professional response to this crisis situation by the KP Police and the security forces.
Certain important security related decisions were also taken in the meeting for maintaining peace and tranquillity on the ICU campus.