Pakistan to bring religious schools under government control

ISLAMABAD – Pakistan's military spokesman says authorities plan to bring over 30,000 religious schools under government control as part of their campaign against extremism.

Maj. Gen. Asif Ghafoor says millions of students in the seminaries currently only get religious education but once the schools are mainstreamed, they'll also be able to receive a contemporary education.

Ghafoor spoke at a press conference in the garrison city of Rawalpindi on Monday.

He also said once the madrassas — some of which are considered hotbeds of radicalism — are brought under government control, 25 million Pakistani children now out of school could be enrolled in the seminaries.

There was no immediate reaction from the seminaries, which are linked to various Pakistani religious groups and which have resisted any form of government control in the past.