All Punjab schools, Bacha Khan varsity closed over threat

The Pakistani university attacked by Taliban militants in a deadly assault last week will remain closed indefinitely until security is beefed up, staff said on Tuesday, as some teachers demanded the government issue them with weapons.

Four Pakistani Taliban gunmen killed 21 people at Bacha Khan University in Charsadda in the country’s northwest on Wednesday after scaling its rear walls, battling security guards and then firing into packed classrooms and hostels.

University staff and students met on Monday, after briefly reopening the campus, to review security as at least 200 students protested outside to demand the government protect them.

“We decided to keep the university closed for some time so we can repair the damaged building and further improve the security situation,” Fazal Rahim Marwat, a professor at the university, said.

Meanwhile, Pakistani authorities on Tuesday closed all the schools in Punjab province, following an alert over possible militant attacks, according to a government notice.

The memo says there is intelligence that 13 Taliban fighters entered from Afgh-anistan and were planning suicide attacks on schools across Pakistan.