Crackdown called off
The week's news at a glance.
Islamabad, Pakistan
Pakistan has backed down from a pledge to expel foreign students from Islamic schools. President Pervez Musharraf had promised a crackdown on madrasas last summer, after one of the London subway bombers was found to have studied at a Pakistani school. Critics say the schools teach a fundamentalist form of Islam that encourages Western and Arab students to join jihadist groups. But the schools refused to turn in their foreign students, and last week the government said it would not use force to expel them. “This government has a track record on backing out on issues of political Islam,” said Najam Sethi, editor of the Karachi Daily Times.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Home Depots are the new epicenters of ICE raids
In the Spotlight The chain has not provided many comments on the ongoing raids
-
Why does Trump keep interfering in the NYC mayoral race?
Today's Big Question The president has seemingly taken an outsized interest in his hometown elections, but are his efforts to block Zohran Mamdani about political expediency or something deeper?
-
The pros and cons of banning cellphones in classrooms
Pros and cons The devices could be major distractions