Authorities successfully rescued 10 students from a Lahore-based religious school who were on the verge of being trafficked to Kabul earlier this week.
A high-ranking official from the home department reported that an Afghan national abducted the students from a Sunni mosque situated nearly two kilometres from the office of Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif.
The official suggested that the trafficking aimed to prepare the students for jihadist training in Afghanistan.
Home Minister of Punjab, Col (retd) Shuja Khanzada, corroborated this assertion, stating, “We have apprehended an Afghan individual responsible for attempting to transport 10 religious school students to Afghanistan.” He confirmed the arrest.
Khanzada further disclosed that the rescued students, all male, have been placed under the care of the Punjab Child Protection Bureau.
He also noted that numerous Afghan refugees have been detained for engaging in such illicit activities.
Since the enactment of the National Action Plan, approximately 1,600 clerics have been arrested for misusing loudspeakers, making hate speeches, and distributing hateful materials.
Moreover, the province has registered around 13,802 religious schools.
Khanzada announced, “A revised curriculum will be distributed throughout the province by the end of this month,” affirming the government’s commitment to reform educational content.
