Madressas to be mainstreamed: DG ISPR

[ghazi52]

Madressas to be mainstreamed: DG ISPR

RAWALPINDI: Pakistan military has said that madressas in the country will be mainstreamed and the government has now allocated funds to implement the plan.

Briefing the media, DG ISPR Major General Asif Ghafoor explained in detail how the state has planned to implement the scheme.

The military spokesperson clarified that Pakistan has firmly decided to root out the extremism from the country in national interest and not under any pressure from FATF or IMF.

In January 2019, a decision was made in principle to mainstream the 30,000 plus seminaries and 2.5 million students receiving education there, he said but the plan was put on back burner due to financial constraints.

Then in February, funds were allocated for the purpose and now the military is now working with Ministry of Education to prepare the syllabus and introduce contemporary subjects the new curriculum.

Army Chief in the past few months have had extensive interactions with the religious scholars from different sects and they were of the view that opportunities for the students passing out from the seminaries are very limited.

There are hundreds of welfare projects run by the proscribed outfits have been taken into government control.

Currently, we need Rs 2 billion at the earliest and Rs 1 billion on yearly basis for the purpose.

The education ministry is preparing a new syllabus which will include modern subjects to be taught to these students.

PTM issue

Commenting on the issue of PTM, DG ISPR said “On the directives of Chief of Army Staff, I personally interacted with in Islamabad when the group was launched.”

The Army Chief had directed me not to strictly deal with them, he said.

He said there are three demands of PTM: first is clear mines and unexploded bombs in the areas, check-posts and missing persons.

The military spokesperson asked PTM to give audit of their money they have collected in the name of rights of Pashtun.

He said how much you have collected money from Indian intelligence agency RAW, NDS and Indian diplomats.

The DG ISPR also questioned why TTP raised voice in favour of PTM.

Message to India

The spokesperson made it clear to India that should correct its attitude else Pakistan is ready to repeat what happened on February 27.

The whole world say two Indian jets were shot down and one helicopter downed by themselves in Pakistan’s fear.

He asked India to tell the world who was in Brigade Headquarter when Pakistani plane targeted the building and share the status of the ammunition depot attacked on February 27.

 

[zulu]

@ghazi52 its very imp but very hard they are going to open can of worms how hard it is i know first hand

 

[Imran Khan]

man we should replace them with school . gov is failed to provide education then poor go madrasa .

 

[Peaceful Civilian]

We should control them all. Can't trust on them working freely.

 

[ghazi52]

We should control them all. Can't trust on them working freely.

True, we can not trust them. Should have total control.

 

[Dubious]

Pakistan to mainstream over 30,000 madaris: DG ISPR


By
GEO NEWS

Monday Apr 29, 2019
RAWALPINDI: Pakistan will mainstream the over 30,000 madaris in the country, Director General Inter Services Public Relations (DG ISPR) Major General Asif Ghafoor said in a news conference on Monday.

“25 million Pakistani children are not in school…There are over 30,000 madaris in Pakistan and 2.5 million children receive an education here.”

“The government and support institutions have decided to mainstream all these madaris… Their curriculum will include contemporary subjects… These madaris will be under the Ministry of Education,” DG ISPR added.

According to Major General Ghafoor, the Army Chief had engaged with Ulema from all sects on this and they all agreed that it was necessary to mainstream madaris and contemporary education must be taught.

The syllabus for the madaris would not include hate speech and ensure respect for other sects, said the military spokesman.

He added that madaris students after completing their studies would have degrees and have the same opportunities as students studying in private schools.

Elaborating further, Major General Ghafoor told members of the media that in the first phase since legislation was required a bill was being prepared, in the second the syllabus would be reviewed teaches assigned and finances discussed. In the third phase mainstreaming of the madaris would take place.

According to the DG ISPR, at the start of this process, Rs2 billion would be required and then Rs1 billion annually would be required.

‘India continues to lie’
The military spokesman began his news conference speaking on the Pulwama attack and India’s baseless allegations of Pakistan’s involvement.

“Since the last two months, India has been telling countless lies. As a responsible country, we have not responded to their lies. Lies have to be repeated again and again. Truth only needs to be spoken once,” DG ISPR asserted.

Dismissing Indian claims of massive causalities in Balakot, DG ISPR stated there was no damage done and local and international media had been taken to the site to show them the truth. “We will facilitate Indian media if they choose to come to Balakot to see the truth,” Major General Ghafoor offered.

The DG ISPR also clarified why he had initially said two Indian pilots had been captured. “When there is a war you receive reports from the ground. When I came to the press conference, I tweeted based on reports that there were two pilots. After the news conference, reports were clear that there was one pilot. How is it that you [India] are ready to accept one of our statements and not the other?”

Addressing other lies, Major General Ghafoor said the US stated that there were no F-16s missing from Pakistan’s fleet. “India should tell US to give a statement that Pakistan has one less F-16.”

The DG ISPR added that Pakistan was waiting for the appropriate time to honour our pilots who had downed the Indian planes.

The military spokesman warned India not to test our resolve as the Pakistan Army would defence the people of Pakistan if and when required.

‘Support for Kashmir runs in our veins’
Speaking on the Kashmir issue, Major General Ghafoor said that support for Kashmiri people “runs in our veins.”

“It is in our veins to support our Kashmiri brethren in their independence.’

According to the DG ISPR, Pakistanis were ready all the time to fight for Kashmir and it was in their minds to do whatever it takes for their independence.

“There is a continuous struggle for supporting Kashmiris so they get their rights.”

"If India is sincere for peace in the region, they should hold talks and resolve the Kashmir issue," he added.

‘No organised terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan’
Major General Asif Ghafoor spoke of the relevance of Pakistan in the region and how terrorism and militancy took root in the country.

He said there was foreign influence in Afghanistan since the last 40 years first with Russian forces and then with coalition forces led by the US. According to the DG ISPR the impact of the Afghan war in 1979 and revolution in Iran led to madaris opening in Pakistan which advocated jihad. He added that sectarian clashes also started taking place due to the influence of other proxies including Saudi Arabia and Iran in the region. “Terrorism and militancy started to sink into our society.”

Speaking on the landscape changing post 9/11, DG ISPR said power contestation in the region was present not only on geopolitics but also on geo-economy. “International powers wanted to force Pakistan to make policies according to their agendas.”

“The concept of Hindutva in India in which Muslims have been targeted raises genuine concern for Pakistanis,” was another reason the DG ISPR attributed to radicalisation.

To overcome the impact of terrorism in Pakistan which was caused due to the operation of international forces in Afghanistan, DG ISPR said since 9/11 kinetic operations were conducted against terrorist organisations.

“There have been 1,237 kinetic operations since 9/11. Near 100,000 IBOs have been conducted all across Pakistan. 17,531 terrorists have been killed. Near 450 tons of explosives have been recovered through operations and IBOs. Weapons were recovered and their training infrastructures were dismantled.”

“Today we can say with conviction, evidence and logic that there is no organised terrorist infrastructure present in Pakistan.”

The DG ISPR said in the policy domain Pakistan passed the anti-terrorist act, counterinsurgency regulation and through an act of Parliament military courts were formed.

Major General Ghafoor further said Pakistan had intelligence sharing cooperation with 70 countries. “We paid the price for this. Over 81,000 Pakistanis including personnel of the armed forces were either martyred or injured.”

“The overall impact on the economy of Pakistan amounted to over $300 billion in losses.”

The DG ISPR also mentioned that while Pakistan was busy in conducting kinetic operations, thrice we had to go to the eastern border.

Action against proscribed organisations
The DG ISPR said that after kinetic operations were completed the state of Pakistan decided to take action against proscribed organisations and formulated the National Action Plan.

He dismissed that recent actions against proscribed organisations were being taken due to external pressures. “The state of Pakistan had made the decision a long time back to rid our society of extremism, terrorism and steps were being taken for this.”

“On January 1, 2019, the decision was taken on how to deal with proscribed organisations but there was an issue of finances. The decision-making body decided that execution would be difficult without finances. In February when this was announced, for the first time in the history of Pakistan the government allotted funds for this.”

To control the welfare setup of these organisations, DG ISPR said the government had made a setup that all hospitals and madaris which are not violent and extremist would be brought under the supervision of the government.

Questions for PTM
The DG ISR said he was the first one who engaged with the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM).

According to Major General Asif Ghafoor, he was directed by the Army Chief to speak to the PTM and directed not to deal with them strictly.

The military spokesman added that he met with Mohsin Dawar and other PTM leaders who had three initial demands.

“We worked on their genuine demands. We cleared the unexploded mines from the area. We deployed 48 teams, as many as 45 per cent areas were cleared from the mines. We launched awareness campaigns in the area to tell people which areas they shouldn’t visit because of the presence of unexploded bombs. Indeed they suffered casualties. We also lost 101 casualties during the clear up operation. Why did the casualties happen?”

Their second demand was related to checkpoints, said the DG ISPR.

"The Pakistan Army is of the entire community. We don’t go with which province the soldier belongs to. Over 6,000 soldiers were martyred in the operations. They were not of one province, soldiers were from Karachi, Balochistan, Sialkot. He [the soldier] gave his life not for his family but for the country. They [PTM] talk about protecting Pashtuns, where were they when people were being slaughtered and football was being played with the slaughtered heads. Where were Mohsin Dawar, Ali Wazir and Manzoor Pashteen?”

Their third demand was missing persons with the DG ISPR stating that the legal commission had identified nearly 2,500 cases.

“It’s not their demand. The demand is of Pashtun brothers. The PTM doesn’t even live there. The local people have genuine problems there.”

Having commented on the three demands of the PTM, the DG ISPR then put the following questions to them.

• How much funds you have collected in donations from abroad, it is more than what you have shown on the website?
• 22 March 2018 – how much funds NDS provided them to continue their sit-in?
• Islamabad sit-in: How much funds RAW provided them?
• April 18, 2018 – Who was Manzoor Pashteen’s relative who went to the Indian consulate, Kandahar? And how much funds were provided to them?
• How much in funds did the Indian consulate in Jalalabad provide to them?
• How many dollars did Indian diplomats give to them in May 2018?
• March 31, 2019 – How much funds did NDS provide to you for Arman Luni’s funeral?
• What do you mean Lar-o-Bar?
• Why did Mashal Khan Takkar come to Kabul from Canada?
• What is the connection with Baloch separatist?
• In what capacity did the PTM say it will receive SP Tahir Dawar’s body?
• What constitution allows you to go to Afghanistan by force to take the body?
• Why does any person who speaks for the Pakistan Army be killed immediately?
• Why does TTP’s Mufti Noor Wali say PTM and TTP are the same? Why do u share the narrative with them?

https://www.geo.tv/latest/235626-dg-ispr-major-general-asif-ghafoor-briefs-media

 

[war&peace]

@Dubious this is excellent news...

I give you +ve rating for sharing this.

 

[Dubious]

Asia & Pacific
Pakistan to bring religious schools under government control



By Associated Press
April 29 at 8:42 AM
ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s military spokesman says authorities plan to bring over 30,000 religious schools under government control as part of their campaign against extremism.

Maj. Gen. Asif Ghafoor says millions of students in the seminaries currently only get religious education but once the schools are mainstreamed, they’ll also be able to receive a contemporary education.

Ghafoor spoke at a press conference in the garrison city of Rawalpindi on Monday.

He also said once the madrassas — some of which are considered hotbeds of radicalism — are brought under government control, 25 million Pakistani children now out of school could be enrolled in the seminaries.

There was no immediate reaction from the seminaries, which are linked to various Pakistani religious groups and which have resisted any form of government control in the past.

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


https://www.washingtonpost.com/worl...ory.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.5197eff69478

APRIL 29, 2019 / 3:52 PM / UPDATED 36 MINUTES AGO
Pakistan plans to bring 30,000 madrasas under government control
Saad Sayeed
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan plans to take control of a network of over 30,000 madrasas as part of a drive to “mainstream” the Islamic schools by bringing them under state control, the military’s spokesman said on Monday.

Modernizing madrasa education is a thorny issue in Pakistan, a deeply conservative Muslim nation where religious schools are often blamed for radicalization of youngsters but are the only education available to millions of poor children.

Pakistan’s new government, facing pressure from global powers to act against militant groups carrying out attacks in India and Afghanistan, has vowed major reforms and Prime Minister Imran Khan has promised the South Asian nation will no longer tolerate such outfits operating on its territory.

Critics of the madrasa education system say children who attend such schools, where they spend most of the day memorizing the holy Quran, are often ill-equipped for the modern world and some madrasas act as breeding grounds for militant outfits.

“The government of Pakistan ... has decided that these madrasas 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.

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Ghafoor said Pakistan would pay for the madrasas by diverting cash to education from the cost of anti-terrorism security operations, which are less necessary because militant attacks have sharply declined in recent years.

Pakistan has been eager to show that it has severed links with militant groups that have in the past carried out attacks in neighboring Afghanistan and India.

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.

Security services have kept a close eye on madrasas associated with radicalizing youths and feeding recruits to Islamist militant outfits that have killed tens of thousands of people in the South Asian country since 2000.

“The benefit will be that when children grow and leave these institutions they will have the same career opportunities that those coming from a private school have,” Ghafoor said.

“We want to end violent extremism in Pakistan and that will only happen when our children have the same education and opportunities.”

He added that madrasa legislation would be presented in parliament in another month and that would be followed by a finalised syllabus, appointment of teachers and allocation of finances.

Reporting by Saad Sayeed

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...drasas-under-government-control-idUSKCN1S517Z

 

[Pakistan Space Agency]

We should control them all. Can't trust on them working freely.

Sell you computer and sponsor a school.

 

[VCheng]

Pakistan military has said that madressas in the country will be mainstreamed and the government has now allocated funds to implement the plan.

By what law does the military have the power to decide this?

 

[Dubious]

By what law does the military have the power to decide this?

national security

 

[VCheng]

He added that madrasa legislation would be presented in parliament in another month and that would be followed by a finalised syllabus, appointment of teachers and allocation of finances.

That is the proper venue to legislate such matters, but how can he predict the outcome?

national security

Really? If you say so, I have no need to argue over this point. Reality is what it is.

 

[313ghazi]

That is the proper venue to legislate such matters, but how can he predict the outcome?



Really? If you say so, I have no need to argue over this point. Reality is what it is.

It's all part of the national action plan. Govt and security forces are working together on this. This press conference was a national security briefing.

 

[Dubious]

Pakistan Army will respond to any Indian aggression with full force: DG ISPR

April 29, 2019

Director General Inter Services Public Relations Major General Asif Ghafoor has said Pakistan Army, with the support of the nation, will respond to any Indian aggression with full force. Addressing a news conference in Rawalpindi this afternoon, he said nuclear power is a weapon of deterrence; however, if aggression is carried out, Pakistan has the right to use any weapon in its defence.

The DG ISPR said instead of reacting to Indian lies after Pulwama incident, Pakistan behaved responsibly and presented facts, proving false Indian claims about the Indian airstrike in Balakot on February 26 and the subsequent developments.

He said Pakistan shot down two Indian aircraft on February 27, responding to Indian air strike.

He said India should keep it in view while planning any aggression against Pakistan. Major General Asif Ghafoor stressed on resolution of outstanding issues between Pakistan and India, including Kashmir and invited New Dehli to dialogue.

He said only peace can guarantee development in the region.

He said Kashmir issue is linked with the ideology of Pakistan and every Pakistani is perturbed over Indian atrocities in occupied Kashmir.

The DG ISPR said it is moral responsibility of Pakistan to continue supporting Kashmiris' struggle to achieve their birth right to self-determination.

Major General Asif Ghafoor said Pakistan will continue playing its role for peace and development in the region, including the Afghan peace and reconciliation process.

He said fencing being carried out on the border with Afghanistan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan has significantly decreased the cross border firing and incidents of terrorism.

He said fencing is being made along the border with Iran as well under bilateral cooperation so that terrorists from Afghanistan do not use this border.

Regarding the menace of terrorism, the DG ISPR said the security forces have dismantled terrorist network and now there exists no organized infrastructure of terrorism in Pakistan.

He said Pakistan also cooperated with the international community to defeat terrorism and intelligence sharing is being carried out with seventy countries.

Giving update about the actions being carried out under Operation Raddul Fasaad, the DG ISPR said eighty-seven major operations and about one thousand Intelligence Based Operations have been carried out.

He said 64235 weapons were also recovered from terrorists.

The DG ISPR said as the country is close to elimination of terrorism, now extremism needs to be handled effectively.

He said there are over thirty thousand Madaris across Pakistan and about 2.5 million students are getting Islamic education there.

He said the government and the stakeholders have decided to bring Madaris to the mainstream in three phases.

Responding to the demands of Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement, he said the PTM leaders received funds from RAW and Directorate of National Security to stage protests in Pakistan and provoke people against the Army.

Appreciating the responsible role played by the media of Pakistan, the DG ISPR said the media is the most powerful pillar of the state at present.

http://www.radio.gov.pk/29-04-2019/pakistan-army-will-respond-to-any-indian-aggression-dg-ispr

 

[VCheng]

It's all part of the national action plan. Govt and security forces are working together on this. This press conference was a national security briefing.

Let the Minister of Education under PMIK's leadership legislate this matter properly. The military is no one to decide matters of educating children, religious or otherwise.