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India-Pakistan
Pakistan madrasas vow to resist expulsion deadline
2005-12-30
ISLAMABAD - Islamic seminaries in Pakistan vowed on Thursday to resist a government move to expel all foreign students by the end of the year, while the government said there would be no extension of the deadline. President Pervez Musharraf has ordered all foreigners studying at the religious schools, known as madrasas, to leave by Dec. 31 as part of a drive to stamp out terrorism and religious extremism following the July 7 London bombings.
Somehow Perv got it into his head that the madrassas are a threat to him. Wonder why?
Mohammad Hanif Jallandari, a senior cleric of the Ittehad-e-Tanzeemaul Madaris, an alliance of Islamic schools, said that around 700 foreign students, out of a total of 1,400, had left Pakistan after the government’s order.

He said madrasas were also not enrolling any more foreign students, but would not respect the deadline. “We don’t accept the deadline,” he said. “The move is based on wrong assumption that foreign students are involved in illegal activities.
"And there's nuttin illegal about blowing up infidels! Why it says so in the holy book! You could look it up!"
“They have legal travel documents, valid visas and none of them is wanted or suspected in any criminal or terrorist act. So what is the issue?

“The government should review its decision and withdraw it. We want a peaceful settlement of this matter, but if they try to impose something, we will start blowing stuff up not accept it at all.”

Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao told Reuters that 65 percent of foreign madrasa students had already left the country and the government would not extend its deadline. “The provinces will submit reports on the issue on December 31 and any further action will be based on those,” he said.
"Seen any of dem furriners in the madrassas?"
"Nope."
"Hokay, let me write that report to HQ."
Jallandari said Ittehad-e-Tanzeemaul Madaris (the Alliance of Organisations of Religious Schools) would meet in Islamabad on Saturday to draw up a plan for future action. He said it had no intention of expelling foreign students. “It’s a discriminatory policy,” he said. “Foreign students are allowed to join colleges and universities in Pakistan but they are barred from madrasas.”
Posted by:Steve White

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