Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan has said that law-enforcement agencies have so far placed 30 religious seminaries in the “suspect” category which have been closed. The minister said this in an official report on the implementation of the National Action Plan (NAP) against terrorism and extremism. Two of the “suspect” madaris were from Punjab, 15 from Sindh and 13 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. No seminary in Balochistan has been placed in this category since the launch of the NAP in December last year. Although the report does not explain in so many words what is meant by suspected madaris, a senior official involved in the implementation of the NAP said they had some direct or indirect connections with militants or their activities. According to the report, Sindh is the only province which has taken concrete action and has so far closed 72 unregistered madaris. No such action has been reported from the other three provinces. There was the growing feeling that NAP had been a letdown, especially on the matter of the madrassas. Peshawar seemed to have changed the security landscape, yet talk about controlling hate speech and indoctrination was never backed by state muscle. Sadly, immediately after Peshawar, certain clerics continued with their hate speech – even warrants were issued – yet the state chose not to move against them, setting another bad precedent. But now, finally, this forward movement on an understandably sensitive subject, not to mention signs that even the longest serving sectarian proxies have become redundant, implies that things might really be changing for the better.
The Sindh government must be credited with setting the (madrassa reform) ball in motion. It has been the most vocal, and most active, against some of the most provocative outfits. It has also taken the boldest steps – shutting down more than 70 unregistered seminaries. Hopefully this exercise will lead to more investigative breakthroughs. The more these seminaries and their funding/arming systems are studied, the more Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) will be able to preempt such designs in future. There is now a strong need to build on this initiative, and make sure NAP’s other fine points are set in motion as well. The fight against terror will take a lot more than the bombs and bullets raining down on sanctuaries in Waziristan. That is why NAP was formulated. It must now be implemented in letter and spirit.
pk.shafaqna.com
