LAHORE, July 19: No religious seminary in any part of the country is imparting military training to its students, PML President Chaudhry Shujaat Husain said on Tuesday. Talking to Dawn before leaving for a four-day visit to Malaysia, he said there might be some institutions preaching sectarianism and the government would ‘reform’ them as crushing them through police action would be ‘counterproductive’. He said no seminary or organization would be allowed to brainwash students or motivate them to indulge in any illegal activity.

Chaudhry Shujaat remained interior minister for several years because of which he is fully aware of the activities of all religious seminaries.

Referring to the July 7 bombing incidents in London, as a result of which over 50 people had been killed, Chaudhry Shujaat said Pakistan was not involved in, what he called, the crime against humanity perpetrated by some individuals.

He said the boys arrested by the British police were born and educated in the UK, and Pakistan or any organization thereof could not be held responsible for what the accused did there.

He said in Britain religious organizations were free to preach Islam and even collect funds for their activities. They were free to an extent that the relevant authorities had taken no action against them even when they had issued a Fatwa (edict) against President Musharraf, the PML leader recalled.

Chaudhry Shujaat said Pakistan had always good relations with Britain and would extend all possible cooperation to deal with terrorism. But, he said, the British government should give the Pakistani community in the UK a sense of security.

The PML chief will participate in a conference in Malaysia. He will give some ideas to deal with terrorism and improve relations between the Islamic countries and the west.

He said it was no longer a question of what the Muslim world should do or could do; it was a question of what it must do.