RAWALPINDI, July 14: The district government has advised the local seminaries against admitting students without verification to prevent their misuse by unscrupulous elements.

District Nazim Raja Tariq Kiani, while chairing a meeting of Ulema and Mashaikh here on Wednesday, said the identity of anyone applying for admission to a seminary should be verified.

"You should send their particulars to the area to which they belong for verification," he said and added that the seminaries should maintain a complete database of their students.

He urged the religious scholars to enhance their cooperation with the district administration and the law-enforcement agencies for fighting sectarianism and terrorism in a more organized way.

"Any suspect should be immediately pointed out so that the terrorists network could be broken," he said. He also urged them to play their role in extending the message of peace to the people and exhorting them to shun sectarianism and other religious biases.

He also urged them to update the curricula and integrate it with the developments taking place across the world. The graduates of the seminaries, he said, should be competent to be absorbed into any sphere of life as useful members of the community rather than just being prayer leaders.

The Ulema and Mashaikh assured the district administration of their complete support. Later speaking to this reporter, Mr Kiani said the new policy on construction of mosques would be strictly implemented.

A no- objection certificate (NOC) by the district government for any future construction of mosques in the district has been made mandatory. A 9-member body, he said, would issue the NOC for mosques.