Pakistani authorities sealed 182 ‘madrassas’ since Peshawar school attack: Report

Pakistani authorities have sealed 182 ‘madrassas’ since the deadly Peshawar school attack in 2014, in a countrywide crackdown on religious seminaries allegedly involved in extremism, a media report said on Monday.

The madarassas were closed in Punjab, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa because of their involvement in promoting extremism and other suspicious activities, the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) news agency reported.

The action was taken under the National Action Plan (NAP) that was put in place after militants stormed an army school in December, 2014 killing at least 150 people, mostly schoolchildren.

As part of the strategy to choke terror financing, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has so far frozen Rs 1 billion in 126 accounts which have a link to banned militant groups.

Law-enforcement agencies have also recovered around Rs 251 million in cash. The government has put names of 8,195 people in the fourth schedule and 188 on the Exit Control List while movement of 2,052 hardcore militants has been restricted.

Similarly, the government has registered 1,026 cases and arrested 230 terror suspects. There were 64 banned organisations in the country while 74 have been declared unlawful by the UN.

Activities of some organisations are constantly being monitored and their activists are under surveillance.

With regard to hate speech, over 1,500 books and other hate material have been confiscated and 73 shops sealed.

Law-enforcement agencies have registered 2,337 cases for hate speeches and material and arrested 2,195 people.