Media doubts over madrassa purge

Many newspapers in Pakistan are, at best, sceptical about President Pervez Musharraf's announcement of the expulsion of foreign students from religious schools, or madrassas.

Some react with outright hostility, charging that the move has been made to appease a hostile West.

Even papers that acknowledge a problem suspect that the measure is excessive - or that the president is shying away from tackling militancy in his own power base, the army.

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Neither the government nor any NGO has identified any seminaries involved in educating their students in terrorism or subversion or in providing military training. If such activities are being carried out at seminaries established during the Afghan jihad with funds provided by the US, Western and some Arab countries, then these seminaries cannot be held responsible for that. As far as allegations of terrorism are concerned, nowadays every practising Muslim is an extremist, fundamentalist and terrorist in the eyes of the United States.

Nawa-e Waqt

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This decision will have a negative impact on the government's efforts against extremism. President Musharraf has himself admitted that Pakistani people dislike US policies. Some political analysts fear these steps will further boost extremism rather than reduce it. Therefore, the government should also consider the negative repercussions of these decisions.

Islam

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The registration and audit of seminaries is a correct decision. The decision to deport foreigners who are illegally staying in Pakistan and being educated at seminaries is also right. It will not be an easy task for the government to implement this decision; extremist forces will definitely put up stiff resistance. However, Pakistan's national security and sovereignty require that whoever comes to this country should have a valid visa. It is also worth noting that Pakistan is named in relation to every act of terrorism taking place in any part of the world. Pakistan will have to improve its image.

Pakistan

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The government should take action against only those students who are involved in suspicious activities. The government should cancel the visas of such students and deport them. However, the deportation of students who are in the country just for the sake of their education will send a message that this decision has been taken to please the US and Britain. There are also fears that it will create the impression at the global level that terrorist training is being provided here.

Khabrain

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Where madrassas are being used to preach violence and terror as a mode of political action and/or to provide training and motivation to militants they should either be closed down or strict action taken to stop such activities. Aside from these steps, there is no justification for a general crackdown on all religious institutions regardless of their standing or credentials. The decision to bar foreign students and those holding dual nationality may please ill-informed Western governments and media but will hardly make a dent in the problem of terrorism.

Dawn

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As the president very rightly pointed out that "mindsets" did not change through use of force but through gradual transformation, it is important that the government tread very carefully in dealing with the so-called problem of extremism rather than blindly launching crackdowns on madaris. Encouraging madaris to modify their curriculum is welcome, but the concerned authorities must also focus on differentiating between genuine madaris and those teaching and training terrorists.

The Nation

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These, and many other steps, are definitely needed to pull Pakistan out of the morass in which it has landed itself. The current move, and the sense of urgency that attends it, shows the gravity of the situation in the wake of the London bombings on 7 July and the linkages of Pakistani jihadis with worldwide extremist terrorism. But while [President Musharraf] might want to move against the seminaries, he is not prepared to put the army in its correct place. He might want to look at other aspects of the problem too if he is sincere in wanting to end Islamist militancy in Pakistan.

Daily Times

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