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A lot of sane minds are furious and raising questions over the Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa government’s decision of allocating Rs. 300 million in their annual budget, for a notorious religious Madrassa, Darululoom Haqqaania, located in the Nowshehra district of Pukhtoonkhwa.
Haqqania is run by Jamiat Ulema Islam (S) chief, Maulana Sami-ul-Haq, who is also known as, “Father of the Taliban.” The said madrassa used to be the main factory, producing jihadis in the 80s, when Pakistan, the US, and Saudia Arabia joined hands to oust the Soviets from Afghanistan.
Those who are surprised by this move of the government, ought to know a little bit about Pakistan’s hide and seek with the policy towards tackling (selectively) and promoting extremism, fundamentalism, and violent extremism under the umbrella of different brands of Islam, mainly Wahabism.
Among many, one worth debating question is, “How would it benefit the province and the country?”
No matter how hard the ruling party (Pakistan Tehreek Insaaf) chairman, Imran Khan defends it, It is certainly, a bad news for the people of Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa. This hefty amount is going to help the seminary produce more terrorists, extremists, and sympathizers of terrorists. The madrassa has given birth to terrorists like, Mullah Muhammad Omar, the founder of the Taliban, Baitullah Mehsood, former TTP chief,(allegedly)the perpetrators behind the killing of Benazir Bhutto, former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Asim Omar, leader of Al-Qaeda’s South Asia wing or in other words, the people, who have been slaughtering Pashtoons for decades, on both sides of the Durand Line.
Consequently this investment may bring more bloodshed to the province, and Dollars to the country. Pakistan has been supporting the “Good Taliban” for years, at the same time receiving billions of dollars from international organizations and other countries, mainly the US. The lion’s share of that aid goes to the military. The province is (knowingly or unknowingly) investing in a cause, which, at the end of the day, would benefit the military and the agencies run by the federal government. Pashtoons are a cash crop in Pakistan. Kill them and get Dollars, turn them into killers and keep getting Dollars, displace them and keep inflating your belly.
Apparently, Imran Khan seems to be closing his eyes to the fact that this step could add to the already radicalized-mindset of the populace, in general. As if offering Taliban an office was not enough, that they are now being given three million Dollars. This is quite alarming as the other madrassas in the province would claim they can produce more living bombs than anybody else, and may feel alienated. It’s not going to stop there. Other madrassas will definitely want their share from the government. They may let a few dozen students blow themselves up if the government fails to meet their demands. More bad news for the province, because at the end of the day , the common people in Pukhtoonkhwa markets, schools, universities, colleges, mosques, Imam barhgahs and other minorities will be targeted to blackmail the government. They are not going to blow themselves up somewhere in Raiwand or Lahore, but in Peshawar, Charsadda, Mardan, Nowshehra, Swabi etc.
Nobody has witnessed any Arab government, organization or individuals stepping up and supporting the then ailing and now dead industries of Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa. They rather kept supporting and promoting extremism, so that the Pashtoon land never gets short of the terrorist factories. Due to lack of attention other industries in the province are suffering, the once record, sugar and paper producing mills of Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa have fallen apart, their land have been turned into housing schemes. Who cares? Those industries are dead now. The sugar mills, paper mills, the industrial zone in Gadoon, and many more are resting in peace while the factories producing terrorists are growing, and THAT IS the national action plan of Pakistan, for Pakistan.
Since the beginning of the slow death of the tolerant society in Pakistan, Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa, parts of Baluchistan, and FATA have been the center of recruiting, training and harboring local and international terrorists. Thousands of innocent people have been killed both in Pakistan and Afghanistan by these terrorists. on one hand the madrassas boosting it’s role in radicalizing the society, while on the other hand, the sitting PTI-Jummat Islami government in the province trying to turn the regular schools into madrassas, by playing with the already messed up curriculum. An effort was made by the ANP government to create a ray of hope by changing the curriculum a little bit , but thanks to Jumaat-e-Islami and PTI for undoing the much-needed changes.
Helping Haqqania and other madrassas, is the continuation of the decades long policy of supporting and promoting extremism and terrorism, which kept bringing bloodshed to some while aid for others. If the people of Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa continue to fail to stop their representatives from selling their blood, they must be prepared for more disaster at the hands of the rulers and their rulers.
Writer: Mujeeb Rmn
The writer is a Washington based Journalist. He blogs at
THE PASHTUN TIMES
