PESHAWAR, 6 March 2004 — British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw toured an Islamic religious school in northwestern Pakistan yesterday, in an unusual trip to review government reforms at institutions long seen as breeding grounds for terrorists.
Dozens of police lined the streets and sharpshooters prowled rooftops during Straw’s morning visit to Peshawar, 290 km, (180 miles) from the capital, Islamabad. The city is the capital of a province run by a coalition of radical Islamic parties, and the tour is meant to foster better ties between the West and Islamic groups.
Eighty students in white caps and turbans stood in two rows to formally receive Britain’s top diplomat, who is making his first trip to Pakistan in 15 months — a period during which Pakistan has stepped up efforts to hunt down Al-Qaeda and Taleban fugitives in its tribal regions bordering Afghanistan.
Straw praised Pakistan for its efforts, describing terrorism as a scourge that hurts everyone regardless of where they live.
“In the fight against terrorism, we are all on the front lines,” he said in a speech at a local university.
Pakistan’s army has deployed tens of thousands of troops and stepped up security in the regions near the Afghan border in an unprecedented drive to prevent terrorists from finding a safe haven on Pakistani soil.
The operations are resented by some among the fiercely independent tribal population — particularly after Pakistani forces opened fire on civilians traveling in a minibus that failed to stop at a checkpoint last weekend, killing 13 people.
Straw backed Pakistan’s military operations in the volatile tribal regions — which are also a suspected hiding place for Osama Bin Laden. He declined to comment on the hunt for Bin Laden.
Many of Pakistan’s religious schools, known as madrasas, are considered key training grounds for militants, and some — particularly those around Peshawar — produced scholars who later became central figures in the Taliban movement.
Straw tried yesterday to focus on promoting religious harmony. He noted that Muslims were predominantly the victims of suicide attacks earlier this week in Pakistan and Iraq.
“There could be no clearer proof that this terrorism has nothing to do with alleged division between Islam and the West,” he said. “Terrorists attack defenseless victims regardless of faith or nation.”
The students, for their part, seemed eager to show Straw their school and their educational system — particularly given the fact that foreign observers come rarely.
“There is a lot of confusion and misunderstanding about Islam and the madrasas in the world and particularly in the West,” said one graduate student, Nawaz Ali. “It’s an opportunity for us that such a prominent Western personality is visiting us.”
Under pressure to combat terrorism, Pakistan has strengthened its control of the country’s 8,000 Islamic schools, requiring them to register before receiving public funds. If they fail to register, the schools could risk being shut down and fined.
