Mehnaz Mumtaz, a student of Political Science at Post-graduate College for Boys Parachinar, said that girls of the area wanted to get higher education but there was no university. Interestingly, at present around 14 girls are attending classes of Masters at Post-Graduate College for Boys as there is no university in Kurram Agency while about 3,000 girl students are studying in Benazir Degree College Parachinar.

Mr Khan said that local elders told him that they had no problem with co-education. They said that girls and boys could study in the same building, he added. “What they want is quality education for their children from a prestigious institution like ICP,” he said.

Although there have been violent clashes in the region during the recent past, yet elders from Parachinar went with the vice-chancellor and his team to Sadda to inaugurate a campus of the university there. They themselves suggested that Sadda should also have a campus like Parachinar, Mr Khan said. “People of Parachinar and Sadda forgot their differences when it came to education and showed enthusiasm alike,” he said.Dawn