Fighting off terrorism is not possible without some serious steps being taken by the government. One of the root causes that have plagued the country with terrorism is a lack of reforms in madrassah education system. Over the years, a neglect, bordering to criminal in nature, has rendered these last refuges for the downtrodden majority of the country more of places for breeding hatred, fanaticism, fundamentalism and terrorism. Lacking an exposure to the real world, students in these madrassahs are brainwashed to distorted and totally contorted teachings of Islam.
What happened in Karachi the other day in a madrassah where security forces retrieved to safety scores of students who were chained on the orders of the madrassah administration, speaks volumes about our government’s lack of will to tackle the issue of terrorism at grass root level. Unless we do so, dreams of a peaceful Pakistan will never translate into reality.
SHAUKAT ALI
Lahore
