PTI’s smart idea

Still convinced?

Imran Khan seems convinced that doling out money is all that is needed to turn the Haqqania seminary from the bedrock of extremism to the epitome of enlightenment, etc. Going by that logic, the state needs to do little more than line up all the extremist, far-right mullah madrassas, fill them to the eyeballs with money, and rid the country of religious extremism – and all that comes with it – in one sweet go. However – Khan sb will be the last person to admit this – but things do not seem to be going so well as far as his ‘vision’ about Haqqania is concerned.

Just a day after Khan defended the disbursement so passionately on prime time TV, the Difa-e-Pakistan Council – which, ironically, Maulana Sami heads – took to the streets again. The country is on the verge of coming under attack, the Council’s leaders told the thousands in attendance. There was mention again of US drones littered across Indian airbases once again, ready to attack Pakistan at a moment’s notice, and so on and so forth. They have even planned a million-man march immediately after Eid.

Can PTI guarantee that none of the Rs300m – which the Maulana apparently promised would only be used for quality education and capacity building – will be routed towards this DPC onslaught? Also, what makes PTI so confident that the seminary in question would be willing to upgrade its syllabi according to modern standards, especially when the Maulana has openly ridiculed and rejected modern, progressive education? It would have been far more prudent if PTI had accepted the political gambit behind the move. With JUI-F already hostile, it probably made political sense to a few in the party to hand the olive branch to JUI-S. But, as other political parties have also pointed out, the exercise has not gone too well for the naya Pakistan project. It’s time for PTI to give its rapid shift to the far right some serious thought.