01/14/2002
EDITORIAL NUMBER=0-09645

PAKISTANI STEPS AGAINST TERRORISM

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has pledged to take action against any Pakistani group or individual involved in terrorism. In a speech on January 12^th, President Musharraf said the solution to the Kashmir issue lies in peaceful means and dialogue. He said that no group in Pakistan will be allowed to indulge in terrorism "behind the garb of the Kashmiri cause."

President George W. Bush welcomed what he called President Musharraf’s "firm decision to stand against terrorism and extremism."

Among other measures, President Musharraf announced that he was outlawing two terrorist groups accused of participating in last month’s attack on the Indian parliament. They are Lashkar-e-Tayiba [LAHSH-kahr-ay-tie-ee-BAH] and Jaish-e-Mohammed [jeh-shay mo-HAHM-med]. Pakistan earlier arrested the leaders of both groups, along with a number of other suspected terrorists. And in recent days, hundreds more have been arrested.

President Musharraf also pledged to take action on the thousands of madrassas in Pakistan. Madrassas are privately-funded schools, where, in some cases, boys are taught an extremist version of the Muslim religion and little else. Many of the boys in the madrassas come from poor families that don’t have the money to send their children to public schools, which are not well supported by the government.

Unlike Pakistan’s public schools, many madrassas virtually ignore important subjects like mathematics and science. And in some, what little they teach the boys about current affairs and history is distorted through a lens of extremism. These madrassas have taught hateful lies about the United States, Israel, and India.

Not surprisingly, some of the students trained in the Pakistani madrassas have become terrorists, or supporters of terrorists. They include many members of the ousted Taleban regime, which harbored Osama bin Laden and other al-Qaida terrorists in Afghanistan. Indeed, the word "Taleban" means "students."

No school, whether in Pakistan or elsewhere, should be teaching hatred. The Pakistani government has said it wants to provide adequate support for its public schools, and to set reasonable standards for private schools, including madrassas. The U.S. is providing Pakistan with assistance to make this possible. No child should be sent to a school that is a breeding ground for terrorists.