e-Akbar against social evils such as illiteracy and poverty. He stressed upon greater transparency in the affairs of the religious seminaries like the other schools and colleges and added that the students there should not be indoctrinated, as generally they come purely for religious education. The President however noted the success achieved against sectarianism and said scores of groups that were on the rampage in the eighties have been controlled. Alhamdolillah we have come a long way. We have controlled the situation to a great extent. Musharraf said the government has effectively dealt with the problem and stopped misuse of places of worship, misuse of loudspeakers and printing of hate material and all the law enforcement agencies were geared up to check these evil practices. The President said the terrorists in Pakistan emanated basically from al-Qaeda who were mainly Arabs and Uzbeks, besides militant Taliban, but added that not all Taliban were militants. He said there were many international, regional and domestic dimensions and complexities involved in tackling extremism and terrorism. Musharraf said Islamic history shows that Madaris used to serve as centers of excellence and produced top scientists, educationists and scholars. Referring to ongoing reform efforts, the President said all the five Wafaq-ul-Madaris (federal religious seminary organizations) were on board and the Madaris registration phase has met 75 per cent success. The President said the government will soon be setting up the Dar-ul-Ilm model seminary where the needy students will get free boarding and lodging and religious and regular education. He said the philanthropists can join the government and help run this system on a larger scale. Musharraf said there was a need to bring tolerance to the society. Islam is always in our hearts and minds and we need to translate it into our lives. He said foreign students in the past have been studying here without proper documentation, who have been expelled, and those who wish to study have to submit No Objection Certificates from their governments and embassies. The President said Pakistan was implementing a four-pronged strategy that includes the use of military force, political action, administrative action and the development activities, in order to root out al-Qaeda and militant elements from its tribal areas. He described Talibanization as an obscurantist and backward thinking and said it was also impacting the settled areas of NWFP where the extremists often attack the music shops and barber shops. But the government has carved out a strategy to deal with this situation. We are moving in the right direction to tackle terrorism and extremism. Musharraf said the government s policies in the international, regional and domestic context to deal with terrorism and extremism are hundred percent correct and focused. The President said the government was also following a six-pronged strategy to check the promotion of extremism, sectarianism and hatred through mosques and seminaries. This strategy involves restraining the misuse of loudspeakers in the mosques for spreading hatred, checking preaching of militancy through literature, suppressing the banned organizations, improvement in syllabus - particularly Islamic education, Madressah reforms and the establishment of a national institution with the task of creating awareness among the masses about peace and harmony, he added. The President said under the new scheme the students in three to six classes would be taught Quran at schools. Relating Islam with terrorism is unfortunate, as it is a religion of peace, harmony and tolerance, Musharraf said. Why Islam should be associated with terrorism? he asked and regretted the use of word Islamic terrorism by some leaders in the world. The President said terrorism and extremism also have an international dimension, as the Muslims across the world - be it Palestine, Kashmir, Afghanistan, Iraq or Chechnya - are on the receiving end. To a question about OIC, the President said this Islamic forum needs to be restructured to enable it to play an effective role in protecting the socio-economic and political interests of Muslims across the world. The President urged unity in Muslim Ummah to face the confronting the Muslim world and said, Until we (Muslim countries) are united, nobody would listen to us.
