Document #1199981
IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (Author)
According to the Bureau Chief in Peshawar for the daily newspaper The Nation, the Omar Ben al-Khattab School was located in Hayatabad, which is a "locality" in Peshawar, Pakistan (27 Jan. 2003). This was a "madrasah," that provided shelter, food and education (ibid.) for "the male children of Arab nationals, residing in Peshawar and its surrounding areas" (The Nation 28 Jan. 2003a). According to the Bureau Chief, "when the Arab nationals were forced to leave Peshawar, this institution was ... closed in 1997" (ibid.).
When asked about funding and whether he knew of any specific non-governmental organization (NGO) that funded the school, the Bureau Chief indicated that the funding came from sources in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait (ibid. 27 Jan. 2003). On the issue of funding from NGOs, he stated the following:
The phenomenon of Arab and Arabian NGO's and [their] objectives is still a mystery for the world. So far we are also hunting for such information as [most] of the Arab NGO's, financiers, donors, patronisers remained in close contact with the secret agencies, responsible for affairs in Afghanistan (The Nation 28 Jan. 2003b).
The Research Directorate also contacted the Director of the Al-Fajr Islamic Cultural Centre in Peshawar, which provides basic education to Afghan refugees, including computer classes and library services (24 Jan. 2003). In an interview with the Director, he confirmed that the Omar Ben al-Khattab School was no longer operating (24 Jan. 2003). He also stated that it was an "orphanage school" that provided education in "all subjects" to children "of those who fought the Russians to liberate Afghanistan" (Al-Fajr Islamic Cultural Centre 24 Jan. 2003).
On the issue of funding, the Director stated that "some Islamic organizations did provide assistance to warriors," but he could not state which ones (ibid.). He did indicate that "many schools and organizations were funded by the Saudi Arabian government" (ibid.).
The Research Directorate also contacted the International Crisis Group office in New York City (24 Jan. 2003). According to one of its officers, the Omar Ben al-Khattab School is not listed in "the 1998 official directory of madrasas and that [his analysts could] not think of any other official or informal source that might have record of such [a] school" (ibid.).
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
Al-Fajr Islamic Cultural Centre,
Peshawar. 24 January 2003. Telephone interview with the
Director.
International Crisis Group (ICG), New
York. 24 January 2003. Correspondence received from an officer.
The Nation. 27 January 2003.
Telephone interview with the Bureau Chief of the newspaper's
Peshawar office.
_____. 28 January 2003a. Correspondence
received from the Bureau Chief of the newspaper's Peshawar
office.
_____. 28 January 2003a. Correspondence
received from the Bureau Chief of the newspaper's Peshawar
office.
Additional Sources Consulted
Canadian High Commission in Islamabad,
Pakistan
Gunaratna, Rohan. May 2002. Inside
Al Qaeda: Global Network of Terror. New York: Columbia
University Press.
The Herald (Jan. 1999 to Nov.
2002)
Human Rights Commission of Pakistan
(Peshawar, Pakistan)
Institute of Islamic Studies at McGill
University, Montreal.
International Crisis Group (ICG). 29 July 2002.
Pakistan: Madrasas, Extremism and the Military.
The International School of Peshawar did
not respond to a letter requesting information within time
constraints.
Jane's Intelligence Review.
(Jan. 1999, Vol.11, No.1 to Jan. 2003, Vol. 15, No. 1)
NEXIS
The Pakistani Ministry of Religious
Affairs did not respond to a letter requesting information within
time constraints.
Rights and Democracy (Montreal
Office)
The University of Peshawar did not
respond to a letter requesting information within time
constraints.
Unsuccessful attempts to contact the
Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education in Peshawar,
Pakistan.
Unsuccessful attempts to contact the
Institute of Islamic Studies in Ajax, Ontario.
Unsuccessful attempts to contact the
International Islamic University in Islamabad, Pakistan.
Unsuccessful attempts to contact the
Research and Development Foundation in Peshawar, Pakistan.
Unsuccessful attempts to contact the
South Asia Institute at Columbia University.
World News Connection
Internet sources, including:
BBC
Centre for Defence Information (CDI)
Danish Immigration Service.
Political Conditions, Security and Human Rights Situation in
Afghanistan. Report on the fact-finding mission to Islamabad
and Peshawar, Pakistan and Kabul, Afghanistan. 5-19 May 2002.
Dawn
Eurasia
Federation of American Scientists
(FAS)
The Friday Times
The Ideas Islamic Directory
International Policy Institute for
Counter-Terrorism (ICT)
Islamic Finder
Pakistan Today
South Asia Terrorism Portal
terrorismfiles.org
terrorismvictims.org
United States Department of State
Patterns of Global Terrorism
Virtual Homeland of Kashmiri Pandits
(Pakistan's Role in State Sponsored International Terrorism. The
Global Islamic Terrorist Framework)
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