QURGHON TEPPA, October 16, 2010, Asia-Plus — According to the preliminary data, 280 young people from Khatlon province have entered religious school in Islamic countries privately and they have not informed the authorities about their religious studies abroad, the Khatlon deputy prosecutor Yusufjon Yusufzoda told Asia-Plus Saturday.
“They are studying at madrasahs and Islamic universities,” said the deputy prosecutor, “It has been established that they left the country illegally.”
According to him, local administrators and law enforcement authorities have managed to get 14 students to return to Tajikistan through conversations with their parents.
In the meantime, Khatlon governor Ghaybullo Afzalov told reporters on October 15 that the province administration has prepared the preliminary list of local young men illegally enrolled at madrasahs and Islamic universities abroad.
“I cannot yet give the exact number of them, because the number of names on this list is increasing from day to day,” said Afzalov, “As soon as the work on establishing the exact number of local young men enrolled at Islamic universities abroad is completed, we will announce these data.”
According to him, planes that carry pilgrims to Saudi Arabia return empty. “On the way back, they will bring Tajik students attending religious schools in Saudi Arabia or Iran and Pakistan to Tajikistan free of charge,” said the governor. “It is easy to get to Saudi Arabia from Iran and Pakistan, and therefore, we ask parents to inform their sons of that. Let them get to Jeddah and from there they will return home by Tajik planes free of charge.”
