Pak madrassa blasts U.S. ban for working as 'terrorist training centre'

Pakistan's Madrassa Taleemul Quran Ganj administration has denied to the United States Department of the Treasury economic sanctions over allegedly providing training to terrorists and insurgents in the name of conducting religious studies.

The Ganj madrassa in Peshawar has ridiculed the ban by the U.S. that slammed the educational institute calling it a 'terrorist training centre' that provides support to al-Qaeda and the Taliban, the Dawn News reports.

The sanctions forbid Americans from having any business interaction with the madrassa and freezes all assets that come under U.S. jurisdiction, the report added.

The madrassa has termed the sanctions as 'unjustified and uncalled for' denying to the reports that the students were trained to become bomb manufacturers and suicide bombers at the Islamic school.

The Department of Treasury said that it was the first time that a madrassa had been the target of sanctions because it often plays an essential role in improving literacy and providing humanitarian and developmental aid in many countries.

It had also claimed that the madrassa had been used as a base by the radical Lashkar-e-Taiba group, which has been blamed for the November 2008 Mumbai attacks that killed 166 people.

Ganj madrassa head Fazeel-A-Tul Shaykh Abu Mohammed Ameen Al-Peshawari, also known as Shaykh Aminullah, has been classified as a terrorist by the U.S. and UN since 2009, because of his support for Al-Qaeda and the Taliban.

The madrassa clarified that Aminullah was just a teacher at the madrassa and had left it since he was put on the wanted list in November 2012.