No guns, no violence

Imran Khan has rightly described the December 16 incident as a shock for the entire nation. We all agree. However, we disagree on our typical response to such disasters, as announced by Imran Khan – a public holiday on this day. Now, except for a small sigh of relief for a few hardworking government officers, what can we possibly gain by one working day loss?

One idea can be a free-for-all event after office hours where debate competitions are held and all schools are invited to participate in the competitions. The winners (and their teachers) could be given an opportunity to visit schools abroad so that a broad-based capacity building is promoted. Another option is to hold national and international essay writing competitions, ensuring similar high-impact rewards for the winners. Yet another option could be to spend money on one school every year, and to develop libraries. The KP CM or Imran Khan or someone important could also spend a day with the students of any school. The possibilities are endless. The common theme each year should be ‘no guns, no violence’.

Irfan U Khattak

Abbottabad