LAHORE - To get an accurate picture of the activities of the foreign students studying in various religious seminaries and public universities, the intelligence agencies have broadened the scope of information gathering of the students, it is reliably learnt.
At the same time, aggressive scanning of the religious seminaries (madaris), to check the possibilities of some of these institutions suspected links with extremist networks, has also been launched across Punjab.
Well-placed security sources privy to the developments on this count confided to The Nation on Friday that the intelligence agencies applying new methodology have divided the foreign students into two categories ‘Active and Non-Active’ and launched fresh information gathering operation focusing public universities, besides religious seminaries.
They informed, “The ‘Active’ category comprises of those foreign students taking part in political activities whether the angle of these activities connected with the religious forces both local or international and similar activities related to other political movements.” The ‘Non-Active’ class included the students who take part only in educational activities and extra-curricular activities.
They added that public and private universities, which do not come under the strict vigilance of the intelligence agencies sections, dealing with the foreigners keeping in view that the foreign students in these educational institutions didn’t take part in political or extremist actions and the religious seminaries are solely connected with the extremist forces issue.
In the recent narrowing down of the religious seminaries against the backdrop of operations against extremists, the likeminded support-base of the extremists comprising foreign students have registered with the mainstream universities instead of the religious seminaries. Security sources informed, “Individual history of each of the foreign student would be maintained under the new formula of information gathering and an index of the foreign students would also be maintained.” A fresh index comprising deported foreign students would be formed by making a new database, which would also list the reasons of deportation. The same database would also contain details of all the foreign students left or would leave the country after completing their education. The intelligence officers handling the foreigners’ sections, under which the foreign students fall, would write remarks about the conduct of these students while their stay in Pakistan.
They informed that the foreign students even remotely linked to the members of a moderate looking religious group which enticed some military officers in the past is under the thorough watch of the intelligence agencies at universities campuses.
Security sources sharing some information about scanning of the religious seminaries (madaris) told this correspondent that there are nearly 15,000 religious seminaries in Punjab belonging to Deobandi, Barelvi, Ahle Hadith and Shia sects, which is a huge number but the intelligence agencies dealing with the scanning of these institutions have also been maintaining a new database to store information in a scientific manner.
Informing about the breakup of the madaris, they said there are approximately 7,710 Deobandi, 5m000 Barelvi, 2,000 Ahle Hadith and 260 Shia religious seminaries operating in Punjab. The religious seminaries are imparting education of both ‘Darse Nizami and Quran Recitation, according to the fresh data collection.
Talking to The Nation, a senior member of the security establishment said, “A neighbouring country recently asked us to pinpoint their nationals whether students or others remotely found involved in aiding the insurgency in one of their province.”
He added, “The neighbouring country, which has already been working on some development projects in our country and desires to undertake more development ventures, also requested us to assist them in counter-insurgency methods that have become successful in combing out extremists from our tribal region neighbouring Afghanistan.”