ISG study concludes Pakistan's madrasas are a threat to regional peace

The International Crisis Group has concluded its study of Pakistan's madrasas. According to its report:

Pakistan's "well-financed networks of madrasas...pose a significant threat not only to the city’s residents but also to domestic stability and regional and international security."

Despite well-publicized intentions to reform the madrasa sector, Pakistan's madrasas continue to thrive because of "poverty and lack of job opportunities; deplorable public schools; the sectarian tilt of state institutions; and the military government’s reliance for political survival on the religious parties and its attempts to marginalise moderate voices and forces."

The ISG suggests that the Pakistani government should at the very least (and I paraphrase here):

• close extremist and jihadi madrasas;
• [monitor the schools'] teachers and students, financial flows and expenditures;
• reform the madrasas' curriculum to exclude sectarian and pro-jihad teachings; and
• enforce existing laws that ban hate speech and incitement to violence.

Unfortunately, it doesn't look like any such reforms will happen any time soon. The ISG sees Pakistan's madrasa problem as symptomatic of the country's lack of democracy:

So long as the military continues to rely on the mullahs to retain power, madrasas and the violent extremism they encourage are likely to become even more powerful in Pakistani society, undermining the security of the state and beyond. Real reform – of the education system and madrasas alike – will only be possible through the strengthening of the country’s moderate parties and forces, with free and fair national elections an essential precondition and first step.