ISLAMABAD: The ulema associated with Wafaqul Madaris Al Arabia Pakistan, a conglomerate of seminaries, have accused the government of launching an undeclared operation against Madressahs in the country.

They threatened to march on the federal capital and hold a sit-in there if the government continued to raid Madressahs and harass students.

Speaking at a press conference on Saturday, Maulana Aziz Ahmad Alvi, Maulana Pir Azizur Rehman Hazarvi and Maulana Abdur Rauf announced that they would observe next Friday, falling on Aug 14, as a protest day.

They said the importance of Madressahs and their services to society would be highlighted in Friday sermons.

Undeclared operation under way against Madressahs, say ulema

They alleged that seminaries were being targeted on orders from abroad.

“Seminaries are being raided everyday which makes them look suspicious to people,” they said. “This is a conspiracy against Muslims.”

They said that students, both boys and girls, were harassed during the raids being conducted on seminaries.

The ulema said it was regrettable that mosques built even over a decade ago were being issued demolition notices.

Published in Dawn, August 9th, 2015

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