PESHAWAR, Dec 18: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Deputy Speaker Khushdil Khan has directed officials to deploy community police at schools in his constituency, comprising suburban areas of Peshawar, owing to continuous attacks by militants on educational institutions.

However, a police official told Dawn on Sunday that there was already shortage of police personnel to increase patrolling along the border areas of Khyber Agency and Darra Adamkhel to stop entry of militants into Peshawar. It was impossible to deploy police at schools, he added.

“There are dozens of schools in each provincial assembly constituency and each building requires at least four policemen to protect it from militants, who usually destroy schools in the night,” he said.

The official said that education department got funds for security of educational institutions so it was duty bound to provide weapons to the watchmen of the schools to protect them.

He said that they couldn't plug all entry points from tribal areas to Peshawar owing to shortage of manpower.

The deputy speaker, when contacted, said that he knew about the problems of police and it was impossible to guard all the buildings but it was also necessary to protect at least the most important educational institutions, particularly girl schools.

The police official suggested that local anti-Taliban lashkars should be assigned the duty to protect schools in their respective areas. He said that night patrolling in those areas was not possible for police in the prevailing circumstances.

However, Adezai Qaumi Lashkar deputy head Fazal Malik said that their volunteers had already suffered heavy losses and they would be unable to accept any additional responsibility.

“We are doing our best by carrying out joint operations with police. We are always ready to reach whenever called for help but regular duty at schools is impossible for us,” he added. He said that only two or three volunteers in a school would prove an easy target for terrorists.

“I have directed the officials of education department to identify the most sensitive as well as important schools in Badhber, Matani and Adezai areas so that community police could be deployed there,” they deputy speaker said.

He said that they had deployed police in many schools. The policemen were performing night duty at the schools and the process would continue, he added.

“We have taken the decision in compulsion as we had spent funds on reconstruction of some schools but they were again blown up,” the deputy speaker said. He added that government would reconstruct all destroyed schools but deployment of community police was also an option to protect them.

A school teacher, who wished not to be named, described it a futile exercise. He said that police were not ready to spend nights in the schools. “Two policemen had been deployed at a middle school in Matani but it was blown up last Sunday,” he recalled.

He said that it was duty of police to take action against militants, who were planting bombs at schools. He said that no one could come from far away to blow up a school at night but some local elements were involved in such acts.