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
Sindh chief minister pledges compensation within two months after Karachi plaza fire
- Murad Ali Shah says government is working with Karachi chamber to help shopkeepers restart businesses
- January fire that killed at least 67 brought safety of Karachi’s commercial buildings under sharp focus
KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah said on Friday compensation for shopkeepers affected by last month’s deadly Gul Plaza shopping mall blaze would be released within two months amid calls for improved fire safety regulations to protect commercial buildings in Karachi.
The fire at Gul Plaza in January killed at least 67 people and left more than 15 missing, triggering renewed criticism of lax enforcement of building codes and emergency preparedness in Pakistan’s largest city.
Authorities said the blaze spread rapidly through the multi-story commercial complex, complicating rescue efforts and raising questions about wiring, access routes and fire safety systems in older markets.
“The government in collaboration with the Karachi Chamber is actively working to help shopkeepers restart their businesses and aims to ensure that compensation is provided within two months so that the shopkeepers can buy inventories to restart their businesses,” the chief minister said while addressing the inauguration of the My Karachi Exhibition, an annual trade and consumer exhibition, according to an official statement.
He said temporary locations had been identified where shopkeepers could operate rent-free until reconstruction is completed, paying only basic maintenance costs.
Shah reiterated the Sindh administration’s commitment to provide Rs 10 million ($36,000) to the families of those who died in the fire, along with immediate relief of Rs 500,000 ($1,785) for affected shopkeepers.
He said Gul Plaza would be rebuilt within two years “in the same manner and with the same number of shops,” adding that the new structure would be safer and constructed “without a single square inch extra.”
Business leaders at the event called for stricter enforcement of fire safety standards across Karachi’s commercial districts, citing unregulated electrical wiring and poor compliance as recurring causes of deadly market fires.
