Pakistan: Asif Zardari dismayed over allocation of public funds to a privately owned seminary close to militant Taliban

 Former President Asif Ali Zardari has expressed concern and dismay over the allocation of 300 million rupees out of public funds to a privately owned seminary in Nowshera known for its links with militant Taliban.

This is nothing but legitimization of militancy and militant Taliban that will undermine the nation’s resolve to fight militants to the finish, he said in a statement today.

Spokesperson Senator Farhatullah Babar said that the former President was deeply concerned over the use of public funds for legitimizing a private seminary known for promoting private jehad project.

The resources should have been spent on human development instead of on a seminary whose claim to fame lies in its promotion of militant Islam and the world view of Islamic militants.

That it should have happened around the time when a group of the militant Taliban reportedly claimed responsibility for the target killing of Sabri Qawwal in Karachi makes it all the more poignant, he said.

He said that the head of the Darul Uloom Haqqania in Nowshera is an acknowledged sympathizer and undeclared spokesperson of the Taliban.

During the government-TTP talks in 2014 the Taliban actually named the head of the seminary to negotiate on their behalf, he said. It is also widely known that a number of militant Taliban leaders have been students of this seminary.

He said that in the wake of killing of Mullah Mansoor Akhtar in Balochistan recently it appeared that some elements were reviving the jehadi project.

Explaining this, he said that recently conservative religious parties led by a proscribed organization held congregations in Islamabad protesting mansoor’s death. Now a privately owned pro-Taliban madrassah has been given 300 million..

Although the National Action Plan calls for disallowing banned outfits from resurrecting yet they have resurrected and openly promoting their militant agenda with impunity, he said and asked “is the revival of the jehadi project by design or by default?”

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