A year after Peshawar, how safe is Pakistan?

A mother tries to wake her child for school and the child refuses to rise up from her slumber. No mother in the world wants her child to miss a school day without a valid reason. Except for the unfortunate mothers who lost their children this day, last year. Those mothers still wish they had not let their children out of bed that day. They are the mothers of the 125 children who did not get a chance to attend school again.
Yesterday marked a year after the grisly attack on a school in Pakistan's city of Peshawar which took away the lives of over 140 people. It was not time for the last class to end, nor did the school bell ring, but the sounds of bombs and gunfire filled the air on that bloody day, making it the last day of school and life. A day which coffin makers don't forget for they had to produce the tiniest caskets to fit the bodies of so many innocent children. A day which not only produced the most horrifying stories and pictures, but also proved the following sentence true: the smallest coffins are the heaviest.
Something had to be done after this massacre of innoncent. All limits were crossed and the nation was angry. The Pakistani Taleban claimed responsibility for the attack. They said that the attack was in revenge of the military offensive, which was being conducted in the North Waziristan region of the country. Today, the nation remembers the incident like it happened yesterday.
Days later, a National Action Plan (NAP) was devised by the government of Pakistan, which was to work with the military. The military and the government both wanted to eliminating terrorism without distinguishing between good terrorists and bad. Its overall aim: targeting every militant and organisations supporting them. Military courts were established, religious seminaries were to be regularised and reformed; many things were promised. Pakistan's army intensified its activities in the North Waziristan region, eager to kill every terrorist. Furthermore, the 2008 moratorium on the death penalty was lifted. Till date, over 300 criminals, including terrorists, have been issued black warrants and hung, which include the recent executions of four terrorists who were involved in the Peshawar attack. Moreover, a massive 70 per cent decline in terrorism attacks has been reported.
Since last year's attack, schools have strengthened their security efforts. Civil society or sections of it are taking matters into their own hands. And the best part is that the parents and students are cooperating with school managements to ensure maximum safety. Teachers have been given weapons training by police, and safety drills have become a routine at schools. Many institutions have installed bullet-proof gates and windows and close-circuit cameras. They have positioned heavily armed security personnel around school premises. Pakistani society, which is known for its impatience in traffic, has become more patient when queuing up outside schools to pick and drop children.
Laws have become tight and authorities are keeping a close eye on activities of people on social media. There are reports of calls being tapped too. At times, it is suffocating to think about such preventive measures which affect individual privacy. However, deep down, they know it is necessary.
But even with so much going on a disconnect is palpable. This year, when a bus belonging to the Ismaili community was attacked, it was revealed that an individual from a prestigious educational institute in Pakistan was part of the plot with other militants. Later, many arrests took place in which students from leading local universities were found to have connections with terrorist organisations. Radical ideology is still being preached and financial aid to the extremist organisations have not be curbed in many cases.
Currently, around 1.8 million children, nearly a tenth of all enrolled students in Pakistan, study in religious seminaries, according to Pakistan Education Statistics 2013-14. It further says that some 1.84 million students are enrolled in the 14,405 registered religious seminaries, of which 97 per cent are privately managed and only 393 are run by the public sector. With many seminaries under suspicion for breeding militancy, it is difficult to judge which madrassah teaches Islam in its right form. Besides, Pakistan is an Islamic country and a major chunk of the population is Muslim. Every parent wishes to provide a religious education to their child. But when the education teaches a violent ideology, red flags must be raised.
In a nutshell, government efforts to regulate madrassahs, curb hate speech and literature have been ineffective, yet things are changing, albeit at a slow pace. Pakistanis in general feel they are safer than a year ago. Those days are long gone when there were two or three bombings in different cities on a weekly basis. With Daesh spreading its wings, Pakistan has a challenge to steer clear of their ideology and keep hate against communities at bay.
The government claims borders with Afghanistan and India are safer. Patrols have been increased, so has surveillance. This may keep out militants out to sow discord in the country. Tterrorist attacks have fallen to an all-time low. The Taleban has been contained, but the the military, intelligence and political establishment should not drop their guard. The real test lies in keeping the peace than in waging war.
The author is freelance journalist. Follow her on @sheema_kh