PESHAWAR, Sept 1: European Union has agreed to provide financial assistance to the government to help introduce reforms in seminaries.

Sources in the provincial religious affairs ministry revealed that  the EU had asked Islamabad to come up with a long-term plan for the rehabilitation of seminaries which the western world believed were breeding terrorism and extremism in the region.

“The EU has made firm commitment to provide some $4 billion to Islamabad for the rehabilitation of seminaries in the country,” a senior official in the ministry disclosed.  

He said the proposed package would be for 10 years.

Sources said Islamabad had told the US government and the European countries that the situation was beyond its control unless it got assistance from abroad to reform the Madaris.

They said the EU had shown willingness to cooperate with Islamabad in this regard and asked the government to prepare a comprehensive plan to liberate millions of Madaris students from the extremist groups’ influence.

Officials believe that modernization of seminaries was a difficult task as the government would have to finance thousands of Madaris.

“The EU has offered a handsome package, but the revival of Madaris and bringing millions of students into the mainstream is a complicated job”, an official said and added that without donations the government could not manage the funds required.

Recently, International Crises Group had released a report according to which Madaris collected about Rs70 billion annually in the country.

According to a religious affairs ministry report, the number of registered Madaris in the country is 6,518 with an enrolment of 1,065,927, including  131,500 girls. There are 2,920 madaris in Punjab, 1,281 in NWFP, 905 in Sindh, 692 in Balochistan, 300 in Federally Administered Tribal Areas, 94 in Islamabad, 195 in Northern Areas and 141 in Azad Jamu and Kashmir.

Sources said that work on the proposed reforms plan for Madaris was likely to be started after the implementation of Madaris Registration Ordinance 2002 that had been approved by the federal cabinet. The education ministry plans to prepare a project proposal at a cost of Rs14 billion to modernize Madaris.

The government has postponed the promulgation of the ordinance after expressions of reservations by religious circles about the registration of seminaries. Sources claimed that the government had become soft on the issue of registration and agreed to bring amendments in the ordinance. It is learnt that the religious affairs ministry had agreed to hold talks with the Ulema on the ordinance. The government has reportedly accepted some of the points raised by the Ulema.

Owing to paucity of time the present government will be unable to implement the ordinance and it may leave it for the next government.