Pakistan minister concedes its terrorism reality; blames education system & touts reform

Pakistan's Federal Minister for Education Shafqat Mehmood has said that the spread of terrorism in Pakistan is the result of the weak education system in the country. The minister was speaking at a ceremony in Islamabad where he said that the government's aim was to support education as much as possible, Geo News reported.

'Big changes in education ministry'

Highlighting the importance of madrasas, he said that the Imran Khan-led PTI government has decided to take them along through various reforms. "Madrasas give education to children and don't seek even a penny from the government," he said, adding "We ended the void between the state and madrasas."

Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Noor-ul-Haq Qadri spoke on the occasion as well, saying that the enemies of Pakistan will not be allowed to sow discord and create conflict between the government and madrasas. "We are making big changes in the education ministry so that the madrasas' issues can be resolved amicably," he said, adding that the madrasas that fulfil the government's conditions will be certified. 

"There was a gulf between the Ulema and the government. The incumbent government is ending this void," he said, vowing that madrasas will be strengthened and no one will be allowed to weaken them.

FATF to decide Pakistan's fate

The remarks come at a time when the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) began a series of meetings on Thursday that will review Pakistan’s actions to counter terror financing amid signs that Islamabad is yet to completely implement the global terror financing watchdog’s action plan.

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According to media reports, there will be eight meetings of FATF’s working groups between February 11 and 19 before the crucial plenary meeting during February 22-25 that will take a final call on Pakistan’s case. Islamabad has been on the FATF radar since June 2018, when it was placed on the Grey List. Since then Pakistan has been escaping the blacklist with the help of Turkey, China and Malaysia and again it will rely on these countries to rescue it. 

The FATF meeting will consider Pakistan's progress in addressing numerous recommendations. The findings are hugely important to Pakistan as it wields significant influence over how international banking institutions approach nations with terrorist financing concerns.

Where nations are blacklisted by the FATF, or, as is the present case with Pakistan, greylisted, they suffer impediment to smooth capital flows, foreign investment complications, and generally higher banking fees reported Washington Examiner.

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(With agency inputs)