COMMON ANALYSIS
Last update: October 2026
This profile refers to individuals involved in the educational process in schools (e.g. teachers, supporting staff), including madrassas.
The analysis below is based on the following EUAA COI products: COI Update 2026, 7.; Country Focus 2026, 6.1.8.; Country Focus 2024, 1., 2.1., 2.2.; Country Guidance should not be referred to as a source of COI.
In Pakistan, attacks on schools in conflict-affected areas are not merely incidental to insecurity but form part of a deliberate strategy by extremist groups to erode state presence, weaken community resilience and obstruct access to education.
Step 1: Do the reported acts amount to persecution?
Acts to which education personnel could be exposed are of such severe nature that they would amount to persecution. More specifically, education personnel have been subjected to serious human rights violation by extremist groups such as Tehreek-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), including extra-judicial killings, enforced disappearances, and hostage taking. Moreover, attacks (including drone attacks) on schools and other educational institutions resulted at times in the death of the personnel. Since 2007, the TTP’s campaign against education has destroyed more than 1 000 schools and killed over 300 teachers.
Step 2: What is the level of risk of persecution?
The individual assessment of whether there is a reasonable degree of likelihood for education personnel to face persecution should take into account risk-impacting circumstances, such as:
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Geographical area of activity: personnel delivering education in areas of Tehreek-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and affiliated groups operations, namely parts of KP and Northern Balochistan, face a higher risk. In these areas, schools have repeatedly been closed, damaged or attacked, and education personnel work in an environment shaped by militant violence, displacement, and state security operations.
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Gender of the students: as education provided to girls is seen differently by extremist groups than education provided to boys, education personnel working in girls’ schools other than madrassas face a higher risk than those working in boys’ schools.
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Occupation: teachers face a higher risk than the supporting staff (such as administrative staff) as they actively deliver the curriculum that can be seen as problematic by extremist groups.
Step 3: Is there a ground for persecution?
Where well-founded fear of persecution is substantiated for an applicant under this profile, this is highly likely to be for reasons of political opinion, as education personnel are seen as agents of the State. Persecution may also be for reasons of religion, as, for instance, delivering education to girls can be seen by extremist groups as going against the role they impose to women and girls in the society.