1. Pakistan: Karachi's Madrasas and Violent Extremism
- Publication Date:
- 03-2007
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- International Crisis Group
- Abstract:
- More than five years after President Pervez Musharraf declared his intention to crack down on violent sectarian and jihadi groups and to regulate the network of madrasas (religious schools) on which they depend, his government's reform program is in shambles. Banned sectarian and jihadi groups, supported by networks of mosques and madrasas, continue to operate openly in Pakistan's largest city, Karachi, and elsewhere. The international community needs to press President Musharraf to fulfil his commitments, in particular to enforce genuine controls on the madrasas and allow free and fair national elections in 2007. It should also shift the focus of its donor aid from helping the government's ineffectual efforts to reform the religious schools to improving the very weak public school sector.
- Topic:
- Civil Society, Government, and Religion
- Political Geography:
- Pakistan, Asia, and Karachi