ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan on Friday said Darul Uloom Haqqania agreed to implement reforms in return for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government's budget allocation of Rs300 million for the religious seminary.
The seminary is located in Nowshera district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and currently run by Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Sami chief Maulana Samiul Haq. It has faced several controversies in the past as its students Abdullah alias Saddam Nadir alias Qari Ismail, Rasheed alias Turabi and Faiz Muhammad have been accused of involvement in the murder of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto. The seminary is also said to be the alma mater of many prominent Afghan Taliban leaders.
"Musharraf received billions from the west for madressah reform and even Maulana Samiul Haq was approached but he rejected the grant, now they are ready for reforms as they trust PTI's government," Imran Khan told journalists during a press conference in Islamabad.
Imran added that progressive reforms are being implemented to better integrate seminary students in to the mainstream, and said those opposing such moves know “little of Pakistani society.”
"Are millions of students studying in these seminaries terrorists?"
The PTI chief further added he has asked the KP government to conduct a press conference to better explain the grant.
Related: Imran defends KP govt's Rs300m grant for Darul Uloom Haqqania
When asked if he will visit PM when he returns to Pakistan, as the PM visited him when he fell from the container, the PTI chief stated he has sent flowers to the PM and would have visited him "if he were treated in a Pakistani hospital."
Petition for PM's disqualification
Imran Khan announced that his party has filed a reference with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) seeking Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s disqualification for not declaring his actual assets to the commission.
The petition was filed by the party leader Dr Yasmeen Rashid.
"Nawaz Sharif has been breaking Pakistan's laws since his term began, but no one has taken action against them, we are trying to make him obey the law," said Imran Khan while announcing the development.
The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) had earlier announced their decision to file petitions against the disqualification of PM and his family members in ECP.
Related: PPP mulls departure from parliamentary committee, advises opposition to follow suit
PPP leader Latif Khosa told the media on Thursday that he, on his party's behalf, will file an ineligibility petition in ECP against five members of the Sharif family as the declarations they had filed in the commission were not based on truth.
