MUZAFFARABAD: The government of Pakistan-administered Kashmir has closed all religious seminaries in the region for 10 days, officials said on Thursday, citing fears they would be targeted by Indian strikes following a deadly attack on tourists in Indian Kashmir.
Islamabad says it has credible intelligence that India intends to launch military action soon, with New Delhi alleging that the attack on tourists was carried out by Pakistani nationals with ties to militant organizations based there.
The director of Pakistani Kashmir’s Department of Religious Affairs, Hafiz Nazir Ahmad, told Reuters that security officials feared Indian forces may target seminaries and label them as militant training centers.
The notification seen by Reuters, dated April 30, only cited a heatwave as the reason for the closure.
“Right now, we are facing two kinds of heat — one from the weather and the other from (Indian Prime Minister) Modi,” Ahmad said of the notification, saying they did not mention the risk of attacks in a bid to avoid panic.
India’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. India has previously targeted sites in Pakistan alleging they were bases of militants close to the Kashmir border.
“We held a meeting yesterday in which it was unanimously decided not to put innocent children at risk,” Ahmad said. The President’s Office of Pakistani Kashmir also said the closure was due to “precautionary reasons.”
There are 445 registered seminaries with over 26,000 students enrolled in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, according to the religious affairs department.
The seminaries — locally known as madrasas — are Islamic educational institutions run by religious organizations, providing cheap, often free, alternatives to regular schools.
Pakistan has said it will respond “assuredly and decisively” to any military action from India, raising the specter of war between the two nuclear-armed countries.
Kashmir, a Muslim-majority Himalayan region, is claimed in full but ruled in parts by both India and Pakistan, and has been the site of two wars and multiple skirmishes.
Many Muslims in Indian Kashmir have long resented what they see as heavy-handed rule by India. In 1989, an insurgency by Muslim separatists began. India poured troops into the region and tens of thousands of people have been killed.
India accuses Pakistan of arming and training militants, which Islamabad denies, saying it offers only moral and diplomatic support. Seminaries have been criticized for radicalizing youth toward extremism.
Pakistani Kashmir closes seminaries fearing Indian military strikes
https://arab.news/yajzv
Pakistani Kashmir closes seminaries fearing Indian military strikes
- Islamabad says has credible intelligence India intends to launch military action soon
- Muslim-majority Kashmir is claimed in full but ruled in parts by both India and Pakistan
Pakistan to showcase BYD, Samsung, Google assembly push at ITCN Asia expo
- STZA pavilion backed by SIFC highlights shift from tech services to manufacturing
- Electric vehicles, electronics and data centers featured at Lahore exhibition
KARACHI: Pakistan will showcase electric vehicle and electronics assembly by global brands including BYD, Samsung and Google at ITCN Asia 2026, its largest tech expo, as the government seeks to signal a shift from technology consumption toward local manufacturing under its investment-led growth strategy.
The display will take place through a flagship national pavilion led by the Special Technology Zones Authority (STZA) at the three-day ITCN Asia exhibition beginning Jan. 17 at the Lahore Expo Center, with facilitation from the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), according to a statement issued on Thursday by the cabinet division.
The move comes as Pakistan pushes to deepen industrial capacity and attract long-term foreign investment amid pressure to boost exports and reduce reliance on external financing. While Pakistan has traditionally positioned itself as a provider of IT services and outsourcing, officials have increasingly emphasized localized production in sectors such as electric vehicles, electronics, cloud infrastructure and data centers.
According to the statement, the STZA pavilion will be organized around three themes: “Manufactured in Pakistan,” “Powered by Pakistan,” and “Pakistan as a Tech Destination,” highlighting the country’s effort to integrate technology with manufacturing and physical infrastructure.
“Manufactured in Pakistan [is] a clear demonstration of Pakistan’s shift from technology consumption to localized production, featuring global brands manufacturing and assembling within STZA-notified zones for domestic and international Markets,” the press release by STZA said.
“Exhibits include BYD Electric Vehicles, Google Chromebook Assembly through NRTC, and Samsung Electronics through Sapphire Group, underscoring Pakistan’s growing role in global manufacturing value chains.”
The digital infrastructure segment will showcase investments in data centers and computing capacity, with participation from firms including Multinet, a Pakistani telecom and data services provider, and Sky47, a local data center and cloud infrastructure operator, focusing on cloud services, connectivity and enterprise-grade digital platforms.
A third segment will highlight investment-ready technology zones, including Tech7 STZ and Winston STZ, privately developed Special Technology Zones that are building large-scale facilities such as offices, data centers and industrial space to support technology firms seeking to expand domestically and internationally.
STZA said it has notified 32 Special Technology Zones nationwide since its inception, hosting more than 250 technology enterprises and around 27,000 professionals across sectors including artificial intelligence, fintech, cloud computing, agritech, business process outsourcing and high-tech manufacturing such as drones, electronics and electric vehicles.
Under existing policy, technology firms operating within notified zones are eligible for income tax, customs duty and foreign exchange incentives until June 30, 2035, the statement said.
ITCN Asia is one of Pakistan’s largest annual technology exhibitions, drawing local and foreign investors, industry leaders and policymakers, and is being used this year to project Pakistan’s readiness for technology-driven manufacturing and infrastructure development.
