US aware of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's donation to Haqqania seminary: State Department
The U.S. State Department has said that it is aware of reports of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government's proposal to allocate three million dollars to the Darul Uloom Haqqania seminary.
When asked about the development, U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby did not comment on it directly.
"I would refer you to the KP government or the government of Pakistan with any questions concerning this funding," the Dawn quoted him, as saying.
On being reminded by a journalist that it was same seminary that the U.S. government had funded in the early 1980s, Kirby replied, "I'm going to let my statement stand."
When asked about Sartaj Aziz, the adviser to Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on National Security statement that the construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) was one of the reasons for strained relations between Washington and Islamabad, Kirby said he was not going to detail diplomatic conversations.
"Look, there are enormous challenges in the region. We continue to work with Pakistan to try to address those challenges. I don't have anything more additional for you," he added.
Following the controversy over the allocation of funds that the seminary students included Abdullah alias Saddam Nadir alias Qari Ismail, Rasheed alias Turabi and Faiz Muhammad who have been accused of involvement in the murder of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan said Darul Uloom Haqqania agreed to implement reforms in return of the allocated amount.
The seminary is located in Nowshera district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and currently run by Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Sami chief Maulana Samiul Haq.