In his latest ostensible “get tough on extremism” move, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf is booting some 1,400 foreigners out of madrassas, or religious schools — but only time will tell if it’s more of a a p.r. move or a move that has a long-range impact in the war on terror.
Some details via the BBC:
“Any (foreigners) in the madrassas – even dual nationality holders – will leave Pakistan,” Gen Musharraf said.
This is the latest in a series of measures the president has announced in a renewed clampdown on extremism.
Madrassas have been in the spotlight after one of the London bombers was reported to have studied at one
Gen Musharraf told foreign journalists in Rawalpindi: “They must leave. We will not issue visas to such people.
“We will not allow madrassas to be misused for extremism, hatred being projected in our society.”
No new visas will be issued to foreigners wishing to study in the schools.
But the BBC’s Aamer Ahmed Khan says it is not clear what effect these measures will have on extremism as the more militant students work at unregulated madrassas that have survived previous crackdowns.
There will be those who wonder if this is merely an empty gesture, an exercise in international and perhaps domestic imagery. Or, the even more cynical, that its more of an internal security move to purge the schools of the foreignors living on Pakistani soil.
But there is a bottom line that suggests why Musharraf should be believed to be sincere: he is one of the world’s most marked men. Islamic extremists would dearly love to have him assassinated (there have been various failed attempts) and/or engineer a coup that lets Muslim extremists take over Pakistan, a nuclear power.
Musharraf can be called many things, but he has shown great courage in his role opposing terrorists who want him and his government whacked.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.