Madrassa students to be used as ‘second line of defence’, says Pakistan Defence Minister

Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif claims on an American news network citing social media content as proof to calling madrassa (religious schools) students as the second line of defence to safeguard the country

Islamabad: Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif continues to be in the news for all the wrong reasons. From his bold statements and claims on an American news network citing social media content as proof to calling madrassa (religious schools) students as the second line of defence to safeguard the country, Asif’s out-of-the-box statements and unique positioning on sensitive topics has surprised everyone in Pakistan, who are now forced to question his credentials to be a defence minister of the country.

In the most recent statement that even forced his party members to take a step back in shock and amazement, Khawaja Asif, while addressing a session of the National Assembly, said that students of madrassas will serve as the country’s second line of defence, whenever needed.

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“As far as madrassas or madrassa students are concerned, there’s no doubt they are our second line of defence, the youngsters who are studying there. When the time comes, they will be used as needed 100 per cent,” said Khawaja Asif amid escalating tensions with India.

The statement left many thinking on why would the country’s defence minister even consider madrassa students as the second line of defence, or for that matter the country’s security. The statement has raised many eyebrows.

“There would be no one in the parliament who would not have taken this statement in a bad taste. It damages the already perceived image of Pakistan to the world which sees the unlimited spread of religious seminaries in the country as a place where young brains are brainwashed in the name of Jihad and so-called freedom struggle,” said Tahira Abdullah, a rights activist.

“It’s impossible to imagine that our defence minister would say such a thing, especially at a time when the country is taking on its neighbour India and accuses its government for towing the Hindutva supremacy agenda and being anti-Muslim,” she added.

Another human rights activist, criticised Khawaja Asif for playing the Hindu-Muslim divide line in his speech, deliberately segregating madrassa children from others, seeing them as the most suited to be used as an asset and transform any conflict into a fight between Muslims and Non-Muslims thereby injecting the religious mix into politics.

“Khawaja Asif’s statement clearly shows his mindset of being a religious hardliner who sees jihadists in madrassa children and intents to use them against his territorial opponents like India in the name of difference in religious beliefs,” said Saeeda Diep, Founder of the NGO Centre for Peace and Secular Studies (CPSS).

“It is because of such mindsets that Pakistan has been labelled as a safe haven for religious extremists and religious madrassas as terror factories instead of religious schools of teaching,” she added.

Notably, in a recent interview with a leading British network, Asif had candidly acknowledged Pakistan’s long-standing support for terror organisations, although he sought to deflect some responsibility by recalling the Cold War-era collaboration with the West in Afghanistan.

“We have been doing this dirty work for the US for the past three decades, including the West and the United Kingdom,” Asif admitted.