ISLAMABAD: Chairman, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI), Imran Khan, has said that the provincial chief minister used his discretionary powers to allocate the funds for Haqqania Madrasa without his knowledge and even without informing some of his Cabinet ministers.

Speaking to VOA at his Bani Gala residence near Islamabad, Imran Khan said he was unaware of the funding for Haqqania madrasa until the media drew his attention to it.

Imran Khan said that he has now instructed the provincial authority to submit a report to him to justify the allocation. "Under Pakistan's constitution, a party chief is empowered to do so and can dismiss a public office holder if he or she goes against party policy."

"The situation is evolving right now. What we want the KP Government, because as I said I too only learnt about this specific madrasa on a TV programme when I was asked this question. So, what we want the KP government to do now is to announce exactly how this money will be spent, how is it going to mainstream this madrasa, which is one of the main madrasas in KP, and we have been assured by the government that in the next few days they will give us the details about how specifically this money will be spent," Imran Khan said.

Imran Khan stopped short of agreeing when asked whether he might instruct the provincial government to cancel the funding for the seminary in the face of growing demands from political opponents, media commentators and civil society activists.

"Well, it depends where the money is being spent, if this money is going to mainstream the students who at the moment are basically marginalized. I mean, again, the party policy is to mainstream the students from these madrasas. As I said, exactly how it is going to be done we are waiting the report from the chief minister," Imran Khan said.—NNI