Pakistani President General Syed Pervez Musharraf's spokesman Major General Shaukat Sultan has callously claimed that the military helicopter gunships, with the help of ground troops of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan destroyed a Masjid/Madrassah and killed 80 innocent Muslim students and their teachers before dawn today in the Bajaur tribal area of Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province.
The students had just resumed their Quranic studies after getting back from their homes where they had celebrated the Eid holidays with their loved ones – for the last time. They belonged to poverty stricken but religiously devoted families who could only afford to send them to a Madrassah because there they could get free education along with a free meal and a slice of straw-mat to sleep on. Their parents wanted them to learn what they believed to be the Word of God and the Ways of their Prophet so they may live successfully, both here on this earth and in the hereafter.
But obviously they did not know, or did not believe, that a Madrassah, in the post 9/11 world, has become a very dangerous place. It is not their Muslim parents or Islamic religion, any more, which dictate what kind of teachings and what sort of ways the Muslim kids should learn and follow. This power has been usurped by Bush and his Muslim (in some cases Prophet's descendants) cronies. They decide now who is a persona non grata and what is a bad teaching. And they have spoken: the Madrassahs are filling stations of venom; the Quranic teachings are lethal and destructive; and the ways of the Prophet are violent.
This is not the first time and, I am sure, it is not going to be the last that a country whose military calls it a citadel of Islam and calls itself its sole custodian and defender has claimed the dismal distinction of killing its own citizens and destroying a house of worship, a house of God, a Masjid and a teaching facility in the name of “war on terror”.
But my question is why Musharraf chose his heinous crime to time with Charles, the Prince of Wales and his consort, Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall’s six-day visit?
Consider the following:
On their first visit to the Islamic republic Charles and Camilla were keen to visit a Madrassah in Peshawar “one of the most radical areas of Pakistan” an area “renowned for its conservative approach” where Charles wanted to speak with religious teachers, Ulema and students about the issues of moderation and understanding in Islam and all faiths. He wanted to break with protocol during his visit and venture into some of the country's most politically sensitive areas known for their ultra-conservative approach to Islam, including the strongly pro-Taliban territory in the north-west of the country where Osama bin Laden is thought to be hiding.
Prince Charles is known to have a long-held interest in Islam and has previously urged the west to overcome its "unthinkable prejudices" about the this faith, its customs and laws and its adherents. He has established over the years a strong reputation among Muslims and is therefore uniquely positioned, more so than a politician to command respect from his audience.
Actually last month, the Sunday Telegraph revealed that the prince has plans to make his coronation a "multi-faith" event. Charles has also said he wishes to be known as "Defender of Faith" and not "Defender of the Faith" - meaning Christianity only -when he succeeds to the throne. He is deemed a key figure in bridging divides between Islam and the West.
He had also expressed that he did not want the security measures for his visit as had been imposed during the visit by President George W Bush in March.
But that was what Prince Charles wanted. Musharraf was not ready to take any chances to let him visit a Madrassah and gain first hand knowledge of what was the true nature of these religious schools. He was using all the tricks of his trade. On the surface Musharraf was going through all the appropriate and necessary motions to schmooze the royal couple. He bought the Duchess a pearls and silver decorated pink shalwar kameez, designed by Farah Leghari, one of Pakistan's top designers whose clients include Queen Rania of Jordan. The price tag was £600-£700. The Prince was presented with a white woolen chitrali cap, the same kind worn probably by a few of students killed in the Madrassah in Bajaur. The Prince and the Duchess were supposed to wear their respective wardrobe pieces during the visit to a Madrassah in Peshawar on Tuesday.
But secretly Musharraf was planning to prevent them from visiting any Madrassah in Peshawar at any cost. So anxious was Musharraf to make the royal couple feel leery of terrorist attacks by dangerous products of Madrassahs that he had drafted thousands of paramilitary troops and police for the security operation for the couple's "safety". To show them that they were in a really dangerous country and instill fear they were to travel mainly by helicopter with anti-aircraft batteries installed around all landing sites, and strict exclusion zones were to be rigidly enforced at every destination. In Islamabad, their activities were to be restricted to an area housing government offices and the diplomatic enclave.
General was afraid that the smoke screen of the danger posed by Madrassahs as training camps of terrorism, which he had so assiduously created over the years with his scare tactics, was about to be exposed with Prince Charles’ visit to one the Madrassahs. He was afraid that the façade of deception behind which he had raised his own edifice of military rule was about to be exposed.
Then he played his final cards. Their Peshawar visit which was supposed to be kept secret until a few hours before the event was leaked to the local news organization which published it in the newspapers. Then he decided to make these 80 innocent students, including some seven years old kids, sacrificial lambs to deter Charles from visiting the Madrassah.
This is how the Prince of Wales was forced to pull out of a visit to a Madrassah in Peshawar due on Tuesday. Clarence House said the decision was taken on the advice of the Pakistani government and the royal couple was disappointed for not visiting the Madrassah.
