ISLAMABAD: Representatives of madressahs agreed on Saturday that religious seminaries found involved in abetting terrorist activities would be dealt with in accordance with the law.

In a joint declaration issued after a meeting with the political leadership, five representative organisations of madressahs assured the government of their support in identifying black sheep in their ranks.

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The meeting was presided over by Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan and attended, among others, by Religious Affairs Minister Sardar Mohammad Yusuf, the Minister of State for Religious Affairs Pir Aminul Hasnat Shah and the representatives of political parties.

The meeting decided that individuals and organisations involved in terrorist activities would be dealt with as per the law.

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It was agreed in the declaration that a committee comprising federal and provincial departments and the Ittehad-i-Tanzeemaat-i-Madaris would be formed to prepare a comprehensive registration form to ensure registration of all seminaries.

Religious seminaries will be bound to submit audit reports of their accounts and any foreign funding would only come through official channels in a mode to be worked out by the government.

The clerics unanimously declared that suicide attacks and armed struggle against the state were forbidden and highlighted the decrees on the subject issued in the past.

The meeting vociferously condemned the Peshawar carnage and vowed that political parties and religious scholars would go hand-in-hand to stamp out the menace of terrorism.

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The participants also condemned the recent publication of blasphemous caricatures by the Western press and called for international safeguards to ensure respect for all religions.

Later, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan told a press conference that another important meeting was held with representatives of media organisations to discuss a more responsible reporting at a time when the country was at war with terrorists.

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The minister expressed confidence that the war on terror would finally be won with the support of people, but he made it clear that it was going to be a long and hard battle. The nation must not lose patience and demonstrate complete unity to defeat terrorists, he said.

Chaudhry Nisar rejected a perception that there was a difference of opinion on the 21st Amendment and said that only two parties had reservations on one of the 20 points of the National Action Plan, which was technical in nature.

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He did not comment on reports that the sacked head of the Punjabi Taliban was enjoying immunity or that the Haqaani network had been included in the list of proscribed organisations. “It is a complicated war and a single-track policy will not work,” he said.

The minister said that an investigation into the Peshawar incident was moving ahead and intelligence agencies had arrested some people in this connection. The main accused identified so far were Pakistanis, he said.

Chaudhry Nisar said Pakistan had taken a strong position on issues discussed in recent meetings with visiting US Secretary of State John Kerry. Even the US relationship with India was discussed, he said.

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He pointed out that the army was focused on the war against terrorism in Waziristan, so why would it play mischief with India. The bellicose threats emanating from New Delhi had also been pointed out to Mr Kerry, he said.

Published in Dawn January 18th , 2015

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