AFP, PESHAWAR, Pakistan: A Pakistani university attacked last month by the Taliban reopened on Monday guarded by hundreds of police, highlighting a pervasive atmosphere of fear after the Islamist group vowed more strikes on schools.
Gunmen stormed Bacha Khan university in the northwestern town of Charsadda on January 20, killing teachers and students in a rampage that left 21 dead. The attack shattered a growing sense of security in the troubled region a year after the Peshawar school massacre, in which more than 150 people—mainly children—were killed.
“I am very happy to announce that the university has been reopened today but amid very strict security,” vice chancellor Fazal Rahim Marwat told AFP, saying the objective was “to defeat the mindset of militants”.
A sense of panic has gripped parents across Pakistan in the wake of the university assault, with rumours of attacks leading to closures of educational institutions.