With a heavy heart, I write to inform you that Ghulam Faruq, headmaster of Central Asia Institute (CAI) www.ikat.org Saw Village School in Afghanistan’s Kunar province, was killed by militants on May 6 as he walked to school that morning.

Villagers said Baba (respected elder man) Ghulam died immediately. Locals said it was Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) fighters who deliberately targeted him with a remotely detonated bomb that exploded on the trail he walked every day to the school in Naray (also Nari) district, Kunar province, according to sources in Saw village. He left behind a wife and eight children.

Baba Ghulam is a dear friend. He was in his 50s, a handsome, engaging man with a silver beard. He was a battle-hardened, former mujahedeen, who fought the Soviet occupation in the 1970s, yet had a humble spirit. While many tribal leaders are known for their speeches and talking, Ghulam was known for his listening skills.

An educated man with a college degree in teaching, Ghulam was the Naray’s greatest advocate for education, including for girls. Today, more than 50 percent of the approximately 400 students at Saw School are girls, although enrollment rises and falls depending on the security situation. Saw is in the mountains near the porous Afghanistan-Pakistan border, along the corridor for militants who come from Pakistan to attack U.S. and Afghan forces and then retreat back across the border.

Ghulam started Saw School a decade ago, using tents and rented rooms in a mud-brick house as classrooms. The school had no government support at that time. Ghulam first contacted us in 2007 to request a school, and had already started about 50 girls learning to read and write in a mud room of his house.

Two months later, Wakil Karimi made the journey to Saw for jirga, which included Ghulam, Ulema Malik Akbhar Khan, elders, government officials and even the Taliban. All parties agreed to support a community school. Naray district chief helped secure the local Taliban’s cooperation and agreement not to attack the school or harm the students.

In 2008, CAI built Saw School, which became a catalyst for a school in nearby Samerak village, and other villages in Naray district, even though it remained a region of considerable turmoil. The school grew thrived. More and more students enrolled, especially girls.

Then in 2012, more TTP fighters started to cross the border from Pakistan into Kunar province. Compared to local Taliban, who were more ideological, the TTP began a ruthless campaign to extort money, food, supplies, and shelter from the villagers, kidnap for ransom and/or kill local Afghan civilians.

In June of that year, TTP militants “arrested” Saw teacher Mualeem Hayatullah and Malik Akbhar Khan, conducted a short illegal tribunal, charged them with spying for the Afghan government, and executed them.

The men left behind two widows and 14 children. Afghan and U.S. forces later killed the TTP fighters responsible for the men’s deaths.

Mualeem Hayatullah was the first CAI teacher killed. Now Baba Ghulam is the second. According to locals, both teachers were killed, not because they taught girls, but because they refused to concede to extortion.

Saw community is in mourning, and has lost a leader and education pioneer, but plans to continue on with the school.

Ghulam was a devout Muslim, who truly lived his life according to Pashtunwali. In addition to other attributes, he showed Ghayrat (courage) to stand up to those who defiled his people, Naamus (protect women) and empower them through education, Melmastia (hospitality) which he provided to all, Turah (bravery) to defend his people, Sabat (loyalty) to his community, tribe and country, and above all, Isteqamat (Trust in God).

This senseless murder of our dear brother Baba Ghulam is a great loss. He was not a polarizer, but a consensus builder. Ghulam was a true Kunari elder, who never cut off communication with his enemies, and tried to solve problems through dialogue and mediation. His courage and resolve to support girls’ education, in the middle of a conflict zone with antagonistic forces at work against him, is his lasting legacy.