By Anisa Shaheed
Reports from Pakistan indicate that the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa federal government in Pakistan has allocated Rs300 million Pakistani rupees (over $2.8 million USD) to a madrassa known as the University of Jihad.
The madrassa has top Afghan Taliban leaders among its graduates, including the group's supreme leader Mullah Omar, who was announced dead in July last year.
"I am proudly announcing that Darul Uloom Haqqania Nowshera will get Rs300 million to meet its annual expenditure," Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Minister Shah Farman said in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly this week.
He was quoted by Pakistani news agencies as saying that the Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) government in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa was not raiding or targeting religious institutions, but has rather been cooperating and providing financial assistance to them.
A number of political analysts have said Haqqania Madrassa is one of the main centers spreading extremism in the region. They say the move to finance the Madrassa proves that Pakistan officially supports terrorism.
"There are more dangerous madrassas in Pakistan than Haqqania providing military training and recruiting the youth to become terrorists. The branches of the madrassa are in border areas, particularly in Para Chinar, Sadda, Miranshah and in central parts of Waziristan," said Sayed Ishaq Gailani, MP and chairman of the National Solidarity Movement of Afghanistan.
According to Afghan security agencies, nearly 6,000 madrassas in border areas close to Afghan soil are promoting extremism and training people for suicide attacks.
The Defense Ministry said they will use all their forces to combat those groups or individuals who try to support terrorism.
"The Ministry of Defense is ready to use all its facilities and capacity against terrorists and is committed to ensuring peace and stability in the country," said deputy spokesman for Defense Ministry, Mohammad Radmanish.
The madrassa in Akora Khattak of the Nowshera district in the province is known for having several top Afghan Taliban leaders among its graduates, including Mullah Omar who received an honorary doctorate from the seminary.
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