Pakistan: seminaries refuse to expel foreign students
By DPA - Indo-Asian News Service, 28 December 2005
The central union of Islamic seminaries’ organisations in Pakistan Wednesday said it would not expel any foreign student from its institutions after the expiry of a Dec 31 deadline set by the government.
Islamabad, Dec 28 (DPA) — President General Pervez Musharraf had ordered foreigners studying Islam in seminaries to leave Pakistan by the end of 2005 as pressure mounted from Western capitals to curb extremists and militants in this country after the London bombings of July 7.
One of the bombers had been suspected to have links with an Islamic school in Pakistan and he had also visited it before carrying out the attack on London transport system.
“We don’t adhere to President Musharraf’s deadline. It (expelling) is cruelty because they (foreign students) have legal documents. None of them is wanted or suspected in any criminal or terrorist act,” Hanif Jallandari, a senior official of Ittehad-e-Tanzeemaul Madaris (ITM) told reporters in Islamabad.
He threatened to launch a countrywide public mobilisation campaign if the government did not withdraw its decision.
“We want peaceful settlement of each matter but if they try to impose something we’ll not accept it,” Jallandari said.
At least 1,000 students have gone back to their countries since their deportation was ordered last July. “At least 800 foreign students are now in different madaris,” Jallandri said.
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