DHAKA (Agencies) - British government officials have made moves towards influencing religious education in Bangladesh as part of regional counter-terrorism st-rategies. A leaked diplomatic cable, released on WikiLeaks, has revealed how the Department for International Development (DFID) has been working with the US to change the curriculum of thousands of madrassas as a common counter-terrorism goal. In one cable discussing British and American counter-terrorism tactics for Bang-ladesh, the US ambassador to Dhaka, James Moriarty, notes how their plans involved asking the countrys prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, to develop and implement a standardised curriculum for unregulated madrassas. There are around 64,000 Islamic schools in Bangladesh. They are seen as an important part of Bangladeshs education system, often providing free schooling to children whose parents are unable to send them to conventional schools.