More work needs to be done
Nawaz Sharif’s call for action against seminaries that back terrorism is the first firm statement by the PM on the issue. Coming as it does after a number of religious parties tried to confuse the issue, it is all the more welcome. However, this is only half the task. Equally necessary is to stop the propagation of extremist thinking in the seminaries which inter alia promotes hatred against other sects and religions. The call for action would be seen as no more than a formality unless it is followed by concrete measures. The government has to prepare a code of conduct for the seminaries followed by necessary legislation. At present there is neither a code of conduct nor legislation governing the functioning of the bodies.
There are complaints from the seminaries that they are being pestered with altogether different questionnaires. The federal government, it appears, has yet to designate any ministry or institution to prepare uniform guidelines for the provinces to seek reports from the seminaries about relevant aspects of their functioning. Unless this is done, it would not be possible to exercise the much needed oversight.
Seminaries that impart religious and sectarian intolerance are in most cases funded by foreign extremist sponsors. There is, therefore, a need to block such accounts. Last month the Interior Ministry told the Senate that no seminary in Punjab was reported to be a recipient of foreign funds. The Punjab Special Branch has however admitted now that 17 countries were contributing hundreds of millions of rupees to 950 seminaries in the province. It was maintained that assistance of other intelligence agencies and FIA was needed to collect solid evidence against these seminaries. This indicates that a lack of coordination among intelligence agencies continues to persist.
The PM has spent two days in the long neglected Balochistan. What he needs to do is to put his weight behind the CM to enable him to kick-start dialogue with those Baloch separatists who can be brought back to the mainstream.
