Pakistan’s ‘university of jihad’ takes great pride in its Taliban alumni

Darul Uloom Haqqania in Pakistan’s Akora Khattak, about 60km east of Peshawar, is home to roughly 4,000 students who are fed, clothed and educated for free

It has sat at the crossroads of regional militant violence for years, educating many Pakistanis and Afghan refugees – some of whom returned home to wage war

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Islamic seminary students attend class at the Darul Uloom Haqqania seminary in Akora Khattak. Photo: AFP

Published: 8:00am, 17 Nov 2020Updated: 8:00am, 17 Nov 2020

Maulana Yousaf Shah cracks a wide smile as he rattles off a list of former students turned Taliban leaders, revelling in their victories over superpowers on Afghanistan’s battlefields after graduating from Pakistan’s “university of jihad”.

The Darul Uloom Haqqania seminary has churned out a who’s who of Taliban top brass – including many now on the hardline group’s negotiating team holding talks with the Kabul government to end a 20-year war.

“Russia was broken into pieces by the students and graduates of Darul Uloom Haqqania and America was also sent packing,” said Shah, an influential cleric at the seminary that critics have dubbed the university of jihad. “We are proud.”

Maulana Yousaf Shah, spokesman of religious political pary, Jamiat Ulema Islam-Sami. Photo: AFP

The sprawling campus in Pakistan’s Akora Khattak, about 60km east of Peshawar, is home to roughly 4,000 students who are fed, clothed and educated for free.

It has sat at the crossroads of regional militant violence for years, educating many Pakistanis and Afghan refugees – some of whom returned home to wage war against the Russians and Americans or preach jihad.

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