The Punjab government has also directed security agencies and the education department/institutions to take special measures on war footing for strengthening the security arrangements in all the educational institutions of the province.
A special meeting was held here on Tuesday, which was presided over by the senior advisor to the Chief Minister, Sardar Zulfikar Ali Khan Khosa and attended by key members of the provincial cabinet, Home Secretary, Inspector General Police and senior officials to review security arrangements in the province.
According to official sources, the meeting evolved a strategy and further course of action to hold up the terrorists, destroy their hideouts and foil their terror attempts in the province.
BR reporter from Karachi adds: The Sindh government announced on Tuesday that all the public and private-sector schools and colleges in the province would remain closed from October 21 to 24. All the government and private sector universities in Sindh province would remain closed on Wednesday in view of the uncertain law and order situation. The educational institutions would reopen after strict security arrangements are put into place.
According to a press release issued here by Sindh Governor Secretariat, the Sindh Governor has summoned a meeting of all the vice-chancellors of the universities on Wednesday at the Governor's House to review the security arrangements made by the educational institutions. The Governor was also given a briefing on fool-proof security arrangements made by the universities. The authorities apprised him of the possibility that educational activities in Sindh varsities could continue due to proper security measures.
Meanwhile, all the government and private schools throughout Balochistan would remain closed till October 25 in view of security concerns, Balochistan Education Minister Shafiq Ahmed said late Tuesday. The minister further said that the concerned institutes would issue new schedule for the exams disturbed by the decision.
AFP adds: Schools and colleges have closed because of fears about militant attacks after twin suicide bombings at a university campus on Tuesday, officials said. In Sindh, the education secretary said 50,000 schools and colleges have shut down until Sunday.
"The decision has been taken to avoid any untoward incident in (the) wake of (the) current security situation in the country particularly after the attack in Islamabad," Rizwan Memon told AFP. The federal government and armed forces already announced that they were closing their schools as a precaution against terrorism. "This is an internal security lapse. We have already advised the educational institutions to tighten their security," Interior Minister Rehman Malik told reporters after the Islamabad university blasts on Tuesday.
The president of the International Islamic University, where five people were killed on Tuesday, said the campus would remain closed until Saturday. A spokesman for Defence, the upmarket army-run neighbourhood in Lahore, said all its schools had been closed until Saturday. "We have taken this decision keeping in mind the security situation in the city and directions from the federal government to close down schools," said spokesman Tajamul Hussain.