It was a rare scene, watching the marginalised marching together. Normally most communities here in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are divided due to differences between sects however, sports recently got them to set aside their differences and march together in a first-of-its-kind scene in the history of the province. Students of seminaries, wearing colourful track suits, representing their respective seminaries and districts were standing in lines at Qayyum Staduim.
The Sports Directorate of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Peer Abdullah Shah organised a ‘very late but better-than-never’ sports championship for students of seminaries in an effort to patch the social fabric torn apart due to sectarian differences, especially in terrorism-hit tribal districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
It took the government a year to convince administrations of the seminaries and students to participate in the event however, ultimately, around 825 students from merged districts ended up participating in the six games held during the championship.
For some games, Shah also allowed teams from outside seminaries to participate in order to meet the minimum participation requirement per district.
The aim of the championship was to bring these students closer to the community and also inculcate tolerance, patience and coexistence amongst them. Participants comprised students from seminaries of different schools of thoughts and government considered such games were the only option to bring them closer to each other. Director Sports for Merged Districts, Abdullah Shah, whose brainchild it was to mainstream seminary students through sports, said he convinced the government to approve the initiative. “I convinced the higher ups in order to bring them [students] closer to each other and help them be exposed to the outside world,” he said.
According to Shah, he convinced the government in hopes to get them accustomed to such events so that they themselves demand holding such events in the future.
“They [students] will learn a lot. Let them come closer, the closer they come the more they will understand each other and the gap between them will narrow down, which will lead to a peaceful coexistence,” Shah commented.
The sports directorate made proper accommodation arrangements for the participating students, offered them food, kits and travel expenses to encourage them. “I cannot express the happiness inside and, on their faces, when they arrived to the stadium. They were full of energy and joy,” he said.
The championship included a Qira’at (narration) and Na’at competition as well as sporting endeavors such Cricket, Football and Badminton, for which the KP government had allocated Rs19 million.
While several international and local NGOs had offered funding for the competition, included an international NGO, which had offered to print logos on kits to distribute to the participating students, the KP government decided to turn down all outside funding.
This was due to the negative perception of NGOs in tribal districts in the past.
The government feared that if the news got leaked to media or opposition members, it could potentially be used as propaganda and would thus, ultimately ruin their efforts.
Corps Commander Peshawar General Faiz Hameed inaugurated the four-day event started June 2 till June 6 in which teams from six tribal districts and six frontier regions participated. General Faiz was invited as chief guest to a dinner where he delivered a speech that helped to do away with suspicion and uneasiness of the seminaries’ teachers and students.
A student from Shia sect won Qira’at’s competition and he received award titled ‘Peace and Harmony’ which the winner received from a sunni student, as a goodwill gesture. The winning team received Rs60,000, runner up gets Rs50,000 while every participating players was given Rs4,000. Some students were awarded laptops and tablets to encourage them to participate in such events in future.
“I never thought participating in such games would be so fun. I am so thankful to my seminary administration and the government for giving us this chance,” said Kaleemullah, a seminary student from Bajaur. He participated in Qira’at competition. There were students who have never been to a city in their lifetime – mostly due to poverty and Peshawar was a completely different world for them. “I am visiting a city and especially Peshawar city for the first time in my life,” Kaleemullah added.
Poverty kept most of them away from hustle and bustle of city life and it was evident from their expressions and even gait. “See this is real life,” said Haris Ahmad, a student from Darul Uloom Islamia Landi Kotal, Khyber. He was, however, lamenting time of the championship, for it was organised at such a time when their classes were underway and exams around the corner.
Some of them were attracted by the recently-renovated and beautifully decorated stadium. “I have never seen such a beautiful ground in my area, so well-maintained, beautifully decorated,” said Abdul Hadi, a student participating in football from North Waziristan.
The toughest job was not to convince the government to give a green light to the championship but administration of the seminaries who are otherwise very apprehensive of such events.
The government intended to promote inter-sectarian harmony among all sects and its people – Deobandi, Brelevi and Shia.
The provincial government always plan and hold different games from transgenders, people with special disabilities, women and youth.
The previous Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf-led federal government was working on an initiative to mainstream seminaries students. It was intending to introduce a uniform curriculum for schools and seminaries. The government also paid Rs300 to Jamia Haqqania as part of mainstreaming efforts.
However, engaging seminary students in such creative games to promote peace was a rare and first-of-its-kind idea. Excitement of the students knew no bounds at the start, for they were stayed at luxury hotels and guest houses with all facilities including pick and drop provided to them. “Sports has always been used as tool to bring peace, therefore, I always considered it my duty to mainstream these marginalised segments of the society, narrow down the division between them that is widened due to sectarian differences,” he said.
He faced immense resistance from the high ups keeping in view risk and challenges involved in the idea. The government was also worried opposition could exploit it for political point scoring in case of any untoward incident. Resistance from administrations of the seminaries from all sects was also immense, especially when they learnt about involvement of sects other than them.
Indoctrination, masses’ negative perception, differences between the leadership of these sects, social status are some factors that has been keeping these students isolated from the rest of the society.
The government intended to dispel the misperception attached to seminaries and its students and their gate. “We want to show the world practically and we did that they are normal people like them, have talent and can excel in every game if given opportunity,” the director said.
The only difference is that they don’t have the privilege to participate in such games. It took the directorate to five to six months to convince administrations of the seminaries due to resistance from them. However, repeated attempts through jirgas brought dividends and they agreed to send their teams. Especially seminaries of Shia sect were not willing and resisted. The directorate approved Rs38.9 million for two years while this current event cost it Rs17 million.
Trials were conducted in Mohmand and Khyber tribal districts to select players for each team and each game. Most of students were initially not willing to wear uniform (trousers) after they were told those who didn’t wear uniform would not get the agreed amount. Some were threatened to be kicked out of the tournaments if they refuse to wear uniform. This worked and they gave up their resistance.
The federal and provincial governments have been working on different projects since 9/11 to mainstream seminaries students through reforms to cover the gap between seminaries of different sects.
The federal government under National Education Policy 1999-2010 has set major objectives to mainstream them and bridge the gap between formal and seminary education. It aimed to bring uniformity between curriculums of modern schools and seminaries and steps for improvement of the working condition of seminaries across the country.
The government had passed an ordinance “The Pakistan Madrasah Education (Establishment and Affiliation of Model Dini Madaris) Board Ordinance, 2001 on August 18, 2001. It aimed aim at to secure the registration, regulation, standardization and uniformity of curricula and standard of education of Madrassa imparting specialized Islamic education in Pakistan with the general education system.
A Pakistan Madrassa Education Board was set up under the ordinance under the Ministry of Religious Affairs. However, due to non-cooperation from religious circles the ordinance could not be enforced in its letter and spirit.
However, introducing initiatives like sports to bring them close and cover the gap. The Sports Directorate of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa intends to organise and hold these on grounds in tribal districts. “We too, want to have access to such sports facilities and have no problems in interacting with people from other sects and professions,” said Qari Amirullah, a junior teacher from Orakzai tribal district.
Taimur Khan is a freelance writer. All information and facts provided are the sole responsibility of the writer.