Exclusive reforms

This refers to the letter, ‘Madressah reforms’ (February 4) by Dr Najeeb A Khan. The writer in his rejoinder to my letter, ‘A real cure’ (February 1) has not connected the threads of the narrative well enough. Agreed that there are highly educated people who have joined the ranks of militants but what is questionable is the type of education they received.
Nipping the evil in the bud also means that prevention is better than cure. The bud in this case is extremism which leads to terrorism. It is not madressahs alone that require reforms. The entire system of education needs to be overhauled to promote tolerance. Our intellectuals are committing the fatal error of bracketing extremism and terrorism together and forgetting how to prioritise solutions. The National Action Plan is designed to fight the evil – terrorism – but it excludes the bud – extremism – from its ambit. Our exclusive focus on reforming madressahs can backfire if it is not made an integral part of the restructuring process of the entire education system that has made us hostage to intolerance. No piecemeal solution is going to make our pulverised society peaceful and civilised. Other sectors – including foreign policy, constitutionalism, rule of law and governance – must be factored into a comprehensive package to finish the longest war of our history.
B A Malik
Islamabad