Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has come under fire from the ruling Pakistan Muslim League and the Pakistan Peoples Party for his decision to expel foreign students from the countries' madrassas (Islamic seminaries).
Muslim League Secretary General Senator Mushahid Hussain, who is also chairman of the Pakistan senate Foreign Relations Committee, challenged Musharraf's decision on a Geo TV talk show telecast on Tuesday night.
Muslim League President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain has already distanced himself from Musharraf's decision.
Parliamentarians from both the Muslim League and the Pakistan Peoples Party took a joint stand for the first time against what they called 'Western extremism.' Leaders from both parties demanded that Islam not be co-branded with extremism and/or terrorism, because extremism does not emanate only from the Muslim world but also from the West.
Appearing on the Geo TV talk show Mushahid Hussain and leader of the Opposition in the Senate Raza Rabbani also wanted Christian religious figures close to United States President George Bush to stop criticising Prophet Mohammad.
Both men denounced the July 7 bombings in London, but urged Western leaders to address the long-standing problems of Palestine, Kashmir and especially Iraq, which have provided opportunities to extremists to preach terrorism.
British High Commissioner to Pakistan Mark Lyall Grant, who also participated in the discussion, said it would be wrong to say that Muslims are victims all over the world. More than 3 million people have been killed in the Congo in the last three decades, he said, and Muslims are not involved in that dispute. Grant said a predominantly Muslim government in Sudan is bombing Christians in the South; therefore, no one can claim that only Muslims are the victims. The high commissioner said problems like Palestine and Kashmir should be given importance but there is no justification for taking innocent lives in the name of these disputes.
Replying to questions posed by anchor (and rediff.com contributor) Hamid Mir Grant said his government has no evidence that the 7/7 bombers attended any madrassa in Pakistan. He added that he has no details about British students enrolled in Pakistani madrassas, but refuted the impression that Musharraf had decided to expel foreign students from Pakistani madrassas because of pressure from the British government.
Mushahid Hussain said the decision to expel foreign students had nothing to do with his party, the ruling Muslim League. "Ask this question to the interior minister, our party was neither taken into confidence nor do we support the decision," he said, adding that not a single 7/7 bomber was educated at madrassas in Pakistan.
He criticised Britain's double standards, saying that when Amir Hussain, the British boxer of Pakistani origin, won international bouts he was declared a British citizen but the British-born bombers of 7/7 were quickly declared Pakistanis.
Raza Rabbani criticised the lack of coordination between the ruling Muslim League and the government but agreed with Mushahid Hussain that terrorism has no religion.
Both men said the invasion of Iraq was not a mistake, but a blunder which has led to an immense reaction from the Muslim world.