MANSEHRA: Heads of seminaries from across Hazara division gathered here on Friday and warned the government against interfering in the affairs of seminaries.

“We will thwart conspiracies being hatched against the independence of our madressahs in the country. Madressahs are imparting both religious and formal education on their own but even then, the government wants to change their curriculum. This is unacceptable to us,” Wafaqul Madaris provincial chief Maulana Hussain Ahmad told a convention of seminaries here on Friday.

Mr Ahmad said the government was trying to divide seminaries to enforce its pro-western agenda.

“We will never allow the seizure of bank accounts and geo-profiling of and raids on seminaries in the garb of their registration,” he said.

Former lawmaker Mufti Kifayatullah asked the government to honour the agreement it signed with an alliance of seminaries on Aug 29, 2019.

He said religious parties won’t allow the government to enforce the Waqf Amlak Bill, 2020, which was meant to harm seminaries and mosques in the country.

The participants unanimously adopted a resolution, which rejected proposed legislation on domestic violence and warned the government against tabling it in parliament.

Meanwhile, an England-based open resource platform has given away Gen Award to intermediate student from Khokar Mera area in Havalian Umair Masood for winning a gene identification competition.

“The Conference Series LLC has honoured me for standing out from the students of developed and underdeveloped countries over a new technique to recognise the unknown genes of any species whether it is animal or plant,” the student told reporters here on Friday.

Published in Dawn, November 13th, 2021