President Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJ&K) Sardar Masood Khan has reiterated the need to promote the true teachings of Islam and encourage learning of the Holy Quran, especially amongst the youth, to create social harmony and bring peace in the country. While chairing the Board of Governors (BoG) meeting of the AJK Tajweed Al-Qur'an Trust here at Jammu and Kashmir House along with Prime Minister AJ&K Raja Farooq Haider Khan, Masood said, "It is our religious duty to contribute to this noble cause."
Various issues relating to the rules, regulations, and financial matters of the Tajweed Al-Quran Trust, opening of new madrasas (seminaries) for the teaching of Holy Quran and increase in honorarium of Quran teachers were discussed. Secretary Religious Affairs Nazir Gillani gave a presentation on the working of the Trust and the status of the existing madrasas, which are actively promoting the accurate pronunciation and recitation of the Holy Quran. Currently, he said, 657 seminaries are operational which are catering to almost 45000 students.
The President and the Prime Minister advised compiling a report on the performance of the existing seminaries, saying the report should highlight the attendance of the Quran teachers and students, hurdles and achievements.
President Masood Khan while commended the noble efforts of the Tajweed Al-Quran Trust, said that that the teaching of the Holy Quran will help strengthen the faith of the students by leading their lives according to the true tenets of Islam, improve their spiritual well being and help promote the message of peace and tolerance in the society.
It was also proposed by the Trust to open new seminaries. The proposal was accepted in principle and it was recommended to devise a strategy for the phase-wise establishment of these seminaries keeping in view of the available funds.
The secretary said that advertisement requesting applications for new seminaries were published to ensure transparency and till date over 2,545 applications have been received. The members of the BoG recommended constituting a committee for the strict scrutiny of all applications and to rationalize the establishment of these institutions at subdivisions, keeping in view of the need and population. The members also commended the proposal of the Trust to prioritize establishment of seminaries in refugee camps, far-flung areas and areas adjoining the Line of Control.
On the recommendations of the Trust, the President and the Prime Minister endorsed an increment of Rs 2000 for the Quran teachers, increasing their monthly honorarium to Rs 12,000.
It was also decided that inspection teams be constituted to randomly visit the seminaries and asses the attendance of teachers and their performance.
The minister for religious affairs proposed that in the initial stages, officers of local educational institutions may be engaged for this purpose. The proposal was endorsed and the Prime Minister assured that necessary instructions will be passed on to the Education Ministry, AJK.
The BoG meeting was also attended by Raja Abdul Qayyum, Minister Auqaf and Religious Affairs AJK, Mian Waheed-ud-Din, Chief Secretary AJK, Muhammad Ayaz Khan, Accountant General AJK, Nazir Gillani, Secretary Religious Affairs, Obaidullah Farooqi, Chairman Ulema and Mashaikh Council AJK, Farid Tarar, Secretary Finance AJK, and Ihsan Khalid Kiani, Principal Secretary to PM AJK.
Comments
Comments are closed.