Mr. Chairman,

A World Bank study that found the number of "Jihadi" madrassahs in Pakistan much smaller than popularly believed has been questioned by the International Crisis Group, a Brussels-based non-governmental organisation. In an article in the Washington Post, Samina Ahmed, the Group's South Asia project director and Andrew Stroehlein, its media director, claim that "Jihadi extremism is still propagated at radical madrassas in Pakistan" and that "these religious schools still preach an insidious doctrine that foments the sectarian violence that is increasingly a threat to the stability of Pakistan." All this is done under the direct supervision of Jamaat-e-Islami and the most radical groups within the Muttahida Majlis Amal (MMA). The Madrassahs, run by Jamaat-e-Islami have been the production units of Jihadis since more than last three decades. The glaring examples being its terrorist outfits like Hizbul Mujahideen, which commits acts of terrorism and publicly accepts responsibility of these acts of terrorism. Similarly, the terrorist of "Jundallah", who was responsible for the suicidal attack on the Corps Commander of Karachi, was a former office bearer of Jamiat Tuleba-e-Islam, the student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami. Jamaat-e-Islami in particular, has been very vocal in pushing the Muslim youth in general and Pakistanis in particular towards Jihad. Unfortunately, these madrassahs act contrary to Islamic preaching and taint the image of Pakistan. Even the "London Bombers of 7/7", though British citizens, fell prey to the indoctrination of these Madrassahs in Pakistan.

A number of reports from intelligence units from different countries have discussed the direct link between the Al Qaeda and Jamaat-e-Islami. Most of the International newspapers have run lead stories about the close working relationship between Al Qaeda and Jamaat-e-Islami. It is necessary to remember that most of the Taliban were trained and equipped by the Madrassahs run by Jamaat-e-Islami and other religio-political parties. Mullah Umar was himself a student of a Madrassahs, run directly by these religiopolitical parties.

The Jamestown Foundation in its report namely Terrorism Monitor of September 11, 2003 has mentioned `The situation is further complicated by the long-standing ties that exist between al Qaeda and Jamaat-e-Islami, which is one of Pakistan's most influential political parties and which currently has a large representation in the National Assembly.

Since the elections of November 2002 Jamaat-e-Islami has also had a role in governing two of the country's four provinces. Even Pakistani Interior Minister Makhdoom Faisal Saleh Hayat has admitted that such ties exist: "All al Qaeda activists and terrorists that have been detained over the past several months are linked to Jamaat-e-Islami." Many members of the front run religious schools that send young Pakistanis to Afghanistan to fight together with Taliban and al Qaeda militants are rewarded. To cite one example, the principal of the school that trained "the American Taliban," John Walker Lindh, was elected to the Senate on these religio-political parties' ticket.

The report by the US Congressional Research Service (CRS) of 13 December 2004 titled Terrorism in South Asia says, `For example, of the three major Al Qaeda figures captured in Pakistan, one (Abu Zubaydah) was found at a Lashkar-e-Taiba safe house in Faisalabad, suggesting that some LeT members have facilitated the movement of Al Qaeda members in Pakistan. Another (Khalid Sheikh Mohammed) was seized at the Rawalpindi home of a member of the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), one of Pakistan's leading religious Islamist political parties. In fact, at least four top captured Al Qaeda suspects had ties to JI. In August 2004, Pakistan's interior minister asked the JI leadership to explain why several important Al Qaeda fugitives were captured in the homes of party workers, and a leader of the ruling PML party acknowledged that terrorists were linked to JI leaders. When asked about the issue, President Musharraf expressed "the greatest disappointment ... that there are some political elements" in Pakistan that "keep on instigating" foreign terrorists. The leadership of the Jamaat-e-Islami and other religiopolitical parties - are notable for their rancorous anti-American rhetoric; they have at times called for "Jihad" against what they view as the grave threats to Pakistani sovereignty that alliance with Washington should come to end, in addition to decrying and seeking to end President Musharraf's cooperation with the United States of America.

Mr. Chairman,

The question that poses itself now is: It is proven to us that religio-political leaderships in most cases are driven by blind ambitions into crises that befall their peoples and the world at large, how can we pull the brakes on the rashness of such adventurous leaders and how can the peoples have the upper hand in the affairs that affect them and affect the entire planet? Muttahida Quami Movement, the 3` a largest political party of Pakistan and 2"a largest in Sindh, the southern province of Pakistan has previously answered this question in different ways stressing that the fort of the people - now and in the future - is the United Nations and therefore it should play its role. Should earth nations want to limit the tyranny of religio-political parties their insane fatal ambitions, the democratic world should nurture and support the liberal and progressive political parties, emerging from the grass root level of the middle class segments of Pakistan to help them dismantle the feudal political system that has permeated this menace to protract their rule in Pakistan. We, therefore, request the UN and International community to put an immediate ban on the Jamaat-e-Islami and the religio-political parties, which are running these radical Madrassahs, which are defying governmental requirements of registration

Thank you Mr. Chairman