ISLAMABAD, Dec 11: The government will introduce an action plan to control the influence of foreign countries, including some Western powers, on Pakistani Madaris.

This plan includes signing of extradition treaties and channelizing funds for Madaris through official system and mandatory condition of NOC from the country of foreign students, official sources said.

According to the officials involved in the exercise of streamlining the affairs of madaris, intelligence reports have pointed out that some 120 foreign-funded Madaris enjoy the patronage of Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Kuwait and Great Britain.

However, none of the countries officially acknowledge that they donate funds to the madaris.

The sources informed Dawn that special teams had been assigned to formulate a comprehensive policy to regulate the affairs of madaris in the ministries of interior, education and religious affairs.

The officials, quoting intelligence reports, said that tracking of financial sources of the “foreign-funded” madaris revealed that Saudi Arabia was providing funds to Jamaat-i-Islami and Jamiat Ahle Hadith; Iran was funding Shia political parties affiliated with Arif Hussaini and Sajid Naqvi; Libya was funding Jamiat-i-Ulema Islam Fazlur Rehman group and Iraq to Jamiat-i- Ulema Pakistan Noorani group.

The religio-political parties in turn patronise the madaris subscribing to their particular sect and religious school of thought, the sources said. The British government, according to an official report, is funding “Madressah Khair Al-Madrassia” Multan through the British High Commission in Islamabad.

When contacted, the spokes-person of the British High Commission denied that the British government was funding the Madressah. The spokesperson said: “The British government is not funding any maddressah in Pakistan.” Talking about impediments in regulating the Madaris, the sources said the religious leaders were against any attempts by the government to regulate the affairs of Madaris because it provides them a strong political base and street power, an official said.

Of the nearly one million students in the country’s officially acknowledged 10,000 Madaris, 18,000 are foreign students from 66 different countries in addition to 17,000 Afghan students.

The ources said that to keep a track of foreign students, the government has decided to formulate a law whereby any student desirous of an admission in a Pakistani madressah would have to get a no objection certificate from his respective government.

Work is also in progress to sign extradition treaties with a number of countries with which the arrangement under the international law does not already exist, sources said.

Statistics available in official records reveal there are 2510 deeni madressahs in Punjab alone with some 320 in Lahore, 170 in Rawalpindi, 140 in Gujranwala, 110 in Faisalabad, 325 in Multan, 410 in D.G. Khan, 150 in Sargodha and 885 in Bahawalpur.

Analysis of the funding sources for the madaris disclosed that 36 per cent religious schools of the province are getting financial aid from the government’s Zakat fund. The remaining 64 per cent madressahs have developed indigenous sources of funding, a major portion of which is funnelled in by foreign countries or foreign organisations.