Provincial government is funding ‘Jihad’ seminary

The Washington Post 02 July 2016

Despite the country’s leaders vowing to crack down on religious seminaries that are recruiting grounds for domestic and international Islamist militant groups, Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial government is giving US$3 million to the Darul Uloom Haqqania seminary, also known as the ‘University of Jihad’, writes Tim Craig for The Washington Post.

At a recent provincial assembly meeting, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s leaders announced the grant and said it was needed to keep one of the world’s most controversial Islamic seminaries operational. Government leaders noted the seminary currently enrols and houses about 4,000 students, and their parents expect they will be taken care of.

By subsidising one of the world’s most controversial Islamist institutions, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Information Minister Mushtaq Ghani said the government will be helping to “mainstream it” as part of a broader reform of what 3 million Pakistani children learn in more than 100,000 madrassas. But critics are blasting the move, saying it threatens to renew doubts about whether Pakistan can ever be trusted as a reliable partner in the global fight against terrorism.
Full report on The Washington Post site

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