ISLAMABAD, June 14: The federal capital has a total of 153 Madressahs (seminaries) but all of them are 'unauthorised' and have been built without approval of the government, it was learnt on Tuesday.

“There are 153 madressahs in Islamabad and they all are unauthorised as no permission was sought for their construction from the civic body,” said Capital Development Authority (CDA) director general (planning) Sarwar Sindu.

The official said each mosque in the city had a madressah despite the fact that there was no provision for building a seminary in any mosque.

Under the fresh survey jointly conducted by the CDA and local administration/police; 56 mosques and the 153 seminaries have been found 'unauthorised'. But the government seems helpless in taking action against them, said sources in the local administration.

“The survey was conducted on the directives of Interior Ministry to ascertain the number of unauthorised Muslim worship places and seminaries,” said Deputy Commissioner Islamabad Amer Ali Ahmed.

He said the role of the local administration in the survey was minimal as it was conducted by Capital Development Authority and the police.

It seems impossible for the government to take any action against such mosques and seminaries under the prevailing circumstances when Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, which is allegedly backed by some religious elements in Islamabad, is carrying out terror activities in the country.

When contacted, a senior CDA official said a total of 276 mosques existed in the urban areas of the capital, out of which 56 were built without permission.

It has been learnt that unauthorised construction of mosques is again on the rise in the city indicating that the authorities concerned are hesitant to take action against them fearing reaction from the religious organisations as experienced in Lal Masjid case.

Some of the unauthorised mosques have been built within the last few months in Sector G-11 and G-10, but the police and the Capital Development Authority remain silent spectators.

One such mosque has been built on a compound of G-11 Markaz and another at a roadside green belt along the G-11/1 Service Road (south), where some gypsies have also established a shanty settlement.

It has been observed that people usually build such mosques to meet their own motives. They construct their residences in the periphery of the worship places and live there with their families besides establishing a boys' hostel on the premises to run a Madressha.

These students are later used to ward off any action against the mosques.

Sources in the CDA blamed the civic body's enforcement directorate for the mushroom growth of unauthorised mosques. Though the directorate has recently been restructured with more manpower and machinery, it has failed to remove encroachments from state land.

When contacted, a senior official of the enforcement directorate, who did not want to be named, said the authority was hesitant to take action against the unauthorised mosques to avoid possible reaction by religious clerics and students.

The DC, however, said: “It is the responsibility of the CDA to check construction of such mosques for which we are ready to provide it magisterial support.”

Under the proper and legal procedure, a piece of land is allocated for construction of a mosque and after the police and intelligence reports, the notified mosque committee goes ahead with the construction of the worship place.

The CDA had intensified action against unauthorised mosques in 2007 but it could not remove more than seven of them due to violent reaction by religious clerics that led to a bloody military operation at Lal Masjid.

Significant mosques which were razed by the CDA three years back included Masjid Amir Hamza at Murree Road; Masjid Sayedna Ibn-i-Abbas, Orchard Road; Masjid Amir Hamza, F-10/3; Masjid Syedna Ali, G-10; Masjid Omar bin Abdul Aziz, PM Staff Colony, Masjid Safha, I-8, and Masjid Omar, G-8 Markaz.