Pakistan to take over 'tainted' madrassas to tackle breeding terrorism

The Pakistani military has announced plans to take over as much as 30,000 madrassas as part of a drive to "mainstream" the Islamic schools by bringing them under state control.

"The government of Pakistan ... has decided that these madrassas will be mainstreamed," spokesman Gen. Asif Ghafoor told reporters at military headquarters in the garrison city of Rawalpindi.

"An Islamic education will continue to be provided but there will be no hate speech," Ghafoor added, saying that religious schools will come under the purview of the ministry of educations and incorporate other subjects into their syllabus.

Madrasa education has attracted a string of controversies as critics claim that children who attend such schools, where they spend most of the day memorising the Holy Quran, are often ill-equipped for the modern world and some madrassas act as breeding grounds for militant outfits.

Even though religious schools are often blamed for the radicalization of youngsters, they are the only education available to millions of poor children in Pakistan.

BREEDING TERRORISM

Ghafoor also admitted the presence of terrorists and Jihadi elements in its country, saying that there is a need to "do a lot" to curb terrorism. "We have proscribed violent extremist organisations and Jihadist groups and we have been taking action against them," he said.

Pakistan's new government, led by Imran Khan, has faced pressure from global powers to act against militant groups carrying out attacks in India and Afghanistan and has vowed major reforms to curb terrorism operating on its territory.

Also Read: ANALYSIS-Pakistan says it is on the road to major change, but few are fully persuaded

Last month, the government announced it had taken control of 182 religious schools and detained more than 100 people as part of its biggest push against banned groups. The crackdown came after intense global pressure after Pulwama attack in India, which was claimed by a terror outfit named JeM and Modi government claims that the terror group operates in Pakistan.