Geotagging of 7,724 madrassas completed in Sindh

KARACHI: Under the National Action Plan (NAP), geotagging of 7,724 madrassas has been completed in Sindh, helping security agencies see the exact location of seminaries and maintain a strict watch on them.

According to sources, the Sindh Special Branch and the IT Branch have completed the task. Of the total, 3,110 are in Karachi, 1,290 in Hyderabad, 750 in Mirpurkhas, 1,536 in Sukkur and 1,037 in Larkana division.



The sources said there are 10,030 madrassas in Sindh of which 2,309 madrassas were sealed under different allegations while 1,184 are yet to be registered.

The Special Branch has written a letter to the relevant departments to take action against unregistered madrassas so that they are not used in any terror-related activities.

In February, the government decided to start much-awaited registration of Islamic seminaries in April. Even though the exercise had been long overdue under the National Action Plan (NAP), the government was considering a carrot and stick approach.

The madrassas that cooperate with the government and register voluntarily would be offered ‘incentives’ while those that refuse to cooperate would not be entitled to any ‘benefits’, officials told The Express Tribune, without elaborating.

(TRANSLATED BY ARSHAD SHAHEEN) 

Published in The Express Tribune, September 5^th, 2016.