PESHAWAR, July 24: The federal government has lifted the ban on the registration of madressahs and restored the previous procedure to recognize the seminaries under Societies Act of 1860.

Speaking at a news conference here on Saturday, NWFP Minister for Religious Affairs Hafiz Akhtar Ali said the ban had been imposed in 1994, but the MMA government struggled to not only lift it, but also relax the registration rules.

"The MMA government conducted a survey of madressahs in the province to find out if the allegations against the seminaries were true. But we found that no seminary was involved in harbouring terrorist or spreading sectarian fanaticism," he said.

The MMA government, according to him, had also found terms and conditions for registration hard. Therefore, the provincial cabinet not only demanded the ban lifting, but also submitted a summary after the survey to the federal government for relaxing the rules.

The federal government, he said, took the decision on June 1, 2004, but informed the provinces recently.

He thanked all MPAs for passing a unanimous resolution demanding lifting of the ban on seminaries. There were around 1,400 registered and 15,000 unregistered madressahs in the Frontier province, he added.-PPI

Our Correspondent adds from Mardan: Minister Hafiz Akhtar Ali has said efforts of the MMA government proved fruitful as the federal government lifted the ban on the registration of madressahs.

The minister was speaking at a public meeting in village Peepal Katlang where he also inaugurated a new bridge and two electricity schemes in Bakar and Shewa Banda.

The minister said that despite many hurdles created by some elements, the MMA government had performed better on the issues of Islamization and development, and referred to the implementation of Shariat bill, interest-free banking and a responsible administration free of corruption.

He criticized former rulers, alleging that the PPP, ANP and PML had increased the debt burden of the province by shifting the public money to their foreign accounts.

On the contrary, he said, the MMA government in its short span of rule paid the debts and compelled the federal government to increase share in the net hydle profit.

He also announced many new uplift schemes for the area.

Leaders of the JUI-F Maulana Saeedur Rahman and Maulana Mohammad Sadique also spoke on the occasion.