22 August 2004	Sunday	05 Rajab 1425

PESHAWAR, Aug 21: The federal interior ministry has evolved new conditions to regularise registration of religious seminaries in the country.

Under the new conditions, applicants are required to have proper buildings with basic facilities and also show their sources of funding.

Religious circles, who were earlier elated by a decision of the federal government to lift ban on the registration of madressahs, are looking at the fresh conditions with doubt.

Sources said that after lifting the ban, the ministry had circulated fresh directives in June last. According to these, applicants are also required to submit a copy of syllabus to the ministry of religious affairs and tell about sources of funding.

Provincial Minister for Religious Affairs Hafiz Akhtar Ali had announced last month at a press conference that the federal government had lifted the ban imposed on the registration of seminaries and restored the previous procedure under the Society Act 1860.

The ban imposed through an executive order in 1994 was relaxed only for 10 days in 1996.

Knowledgeable sources said the federal government had now linked registration of madressahs with the provision of proper infrastructure equipped with basic facilities.

The ministry has also directed the authorities concerned to check number of students in the madressah before registration.

On Thursday, the provincial minister for religious affairs held a meeting to review the new conditions. Sources privy to the meeting said representatives of seminaries opposed new conditions. "There was strong resentment among ulema over the clause on showing the source of funding and submission of syllabus to the religious ministry."