180 seminaries being monitored

LAHORE
The Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) have started monitoring bank accounts and other financial transactions of over 180 suspected seminaries of Punjab.
The LEAs undertook the initiative under the National Action Plan (NAP) to break the network of terrorism and terror financing.
The 20-point NAP was adopted by the all stakeholders of the country, including top civilian and military leadership after the brutal terror attack on Army Public School, Peshawar, which killed around 150 people, majority of them children last year.
According to an official document prepared by Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) Punjab, these 186 seminaries of all schools of thought are located in nine divisions of the province. Three divisions of South Punjab, including Multan, Bahawalpur and D.G Khan have total 78 such seminaries which are under the observation of the LEAs. Similarly, remaining 108 seminaries are located in other six divisions located in the remaining part of the Punjab province.
At the top of the list is DG Khan division having 32 seminaries which are under the radar of the LEAs. DG Khan district has 11, Muzaffargarh and Rajanpur each have eight and Layyah district has five such seminaries.
In the list, Multan division occupied the second place having 31 seminaries which are under the watch of LEAs. Among those, 15 are in Multan, eight in Khanewal, five in Lodhran and three in Vehari districts fall in the division.
Similarly, Sahiwal division with 21 seminaries is at the third place. Among those 10 are in Okara, nine in Sahiwal and two are located in Pakpattan districts. With 20 such seminaries, Sargodha division is at the fourth place. Sargodha eight, Mianwali five, Bhakkar four and Khushab district has three such seminaries in the list.
Lahore and Rawalpindi divisions have 19 each such seminaries being monitored by the security agencies. Among those, Lahore have 12, Sheikhupura three, Kasur four, Attock six, Chakwal five, Rawalpindi and Jhelum districts have four such seminaries each; 17 seminaries are under the watch of the LEAs belonging to Gujranwala division wherein seven are in Gujranwala, four in Gujrat, two in Hafizabad and one each located in Sialkot, Narowal and Mandi Bahauddin districts. Bahawalpur division has 15 seminaries in the watch-list in which Rahimyar Khan has six, Bahawalpur five and Bahawalnagar districts have four seminaries.
With 12 such seminaries, Faisalabad division is at the last number in the list. Faisalabad and Jhang districts have four seminaries each whereas Chiniot and Toba Tek Singh districts have two seminaries each in the list.
Declining to be named, a senior official at Punjab Home Department talking to The News said that the law enforcement agencies had sought details of bank accounts of these 186 seminaries from the State Bank of Pakistan. Similarly, he said, they had also sought details about those individuals running the affairs of these seminaries from National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA). The official said that National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA), Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), CTD Punjab, Punjab Police, Punjab Home Department and premier intelligence agencies of the country had established a strong network in this regard to choke the funding and financiers of these seminaries, if there is any, for ridding the extremism and terrorism off from the country which is a key target of the NAP.
To a question, the official said that dealing firmly with terrorists, zero tolerance for militancy in Punjab, registration and regulation of seminaries, taking effective steps against religious persecution and choking financing for terrorists and terrorist organisations, etc are key targets of the LEAs under the 20-point NAP.
When contacted, Pakistan Ulema Council Chairman Allama Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi said that government should take action against all such seminaries involved in extremism and terrorism in the country.
“From the day first, we are of the view that the government should take action against those seminaries involved in terrorism and extremism to nip the evil in the bud”, he remarked. However, the PUC chairman made it clear that though they were supporting the government-backed actions since the launch of NAP but would support only evidence-based actions against the seminaries instead of those carried on mere at hearsay. The LEAs should share evidences with us if they have any about involvement of any seminaries in terrorism, he added.
To another question, Tahir Mehmood said that already over 13, 000 seminaries across Punjab were cooperating with the government and its agencies in the ongoing process of their registration.