PESHAWAR, March 14: The provincial general council of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (F) here on Sunday denounced the government's action against seminaries in the country.

Seminaries, a press release issued after the council meeting said, were playing a vital role in the promotion of education and Islamic values, adding that the government was pursuing the US agenda by closing down Madressahs and imposing Western culture in society.

The JUI-F's general council meeting was presided over by MNA Maulana Amanullah and was attended by NWFP Chief Minister Akram Khan Durrani, provincial ministers, MNAs and MPAs belonging to the party. The chief minister informed the council about the performance of the provincial government.

The council criticized the delay in the presentation of the Hasba bill in the NWFP Assembly and a covert agency's raid on a seminary in Dera Ismail Khan recently. The council urged the provincial government to table the bill in the provincial assembly to pave way for the Islamic system in the province.

The council dispelled the impression that religious institutions produced extremist elements or that terrorists took shelter in seminaries while condemning the ban on the entry of the MMA general secretary Maulana Fazlur Rehman in South Waziristan Agency besides urging the federal government to stop the ongoing operation in the tribal area.

The council criticised the statements of some elements against the provincial government, saying that irresponsible attitude of a few elements would affect the cause of the MMA.