QUETTA, Nov 5: Religious leaders have decided to cooperate and protect the religious seminaries and worship places of all the sects in the province to promote harmony among the people.

The decision was taken at a meeting held here on Tuesday. The meeting was presided over by Chief Minister Jam Mir Mohammad Yousuf and attended by MPs and religious scholars and leaders of various Muslim sects.

The meeting decided not to let anybody exploit religious feelings and create hatred among the people belonging to different sects.

It was decided that Madressah Imdadia Marriabad, which was ransacked by some miscreants on July 4, last, would be handed over to its principal for reconstruction and repair.

The meeting strongly opposed the sale, closure, shifting or changing it into a welfare institution and observed that the action would create a wrong impression, which may hurt religious harmony.

The participants of the meeting urged the government to hand over the Madressah to its administration for imparting religious education.

The meeting was informed that Rs3 million, provided by the chief minister as compensation for the affected people of the Madressah would soon be distributed.

It was also disclosed that construction and repair of the damaged religious seminary was completed at a cost of Rs800,000 provided by the chief minister.