• Zardari signs Societies Registration (Amendment) Act 2024 into law, gazette notification issued
• Requirement for mandatory registration with education ministry ends, presidential ordinance gives madressahs choice of who to register with
• Tahir Ashrafi says president’s decision has put all differences to rest; Maulana Fazl congratulates seminary boards on their ‘success’

ISLAMABAD: After more than a month of controversy surrounding the law pertaining to the registration of seminaries, President Asif Ali Zardari — who had initially withheld his assent — finally signed the Societies Registration (Amendment) Act 2024 into law, swiftly followed by the promulgation of the Societies Registration (Amendment) Ordinance that amended the act of parliament.

On Sunday, the National Assem­bly Secretariat issued a gazette notification, which said that the president gave his assent to the Societies Registration (Amend­ment) Act 2024 on Dec 27, which “shall come into force at once”.

On the same day, a notification dated Dec 28 was issued by the president’s office about an amendment to the abovementioned societies act. “The Prime Minister’s advice at para 6 of the summary is approved. The Societies Regis­tration (Amendment) Ordinance, 2024, is signed and promulgated,” the notification read.

The ordinance relates to the addition of a new clause ‘21-C’ in the bill. The new section gives the seminaries the option to register either with the Directorate General of Religious Education (DGRE) or at the relevant deputy commissioner’s office.

The ordinance was issued beca­use about 18,600 seminaries had been registered with the education ministry under the decision of the federal cabinet without any legal backing, sources said, adding that the ordinance was promulgated to give legal cover to that cabinet decision. The ordinance also limits the societies act to Islamabad since education is a provincial subject under the 18th Amendment.

Both groups pacified

The two laws promulgated by the government pacified both groups of clerics, as the traditional five madressah boards in the country aligned with the JUI-F wanted seminaries to be autonomous through registration under the relevant DC office, whereas the new boards formed after 2019 wanted to remain under the education ministry’s DGRE.

Initially, the Societies Regis­tration (Amendment) 2024, which allows the seminaries to register with the local administration — was approved in a joint session of parliament that also saw the passage of the 26th Amendment.

But the president refused to sign the legislation, citing potential backlash by international stakeholders. Traditional seminary boards led by the JUI-F, however, took exception to this and demanded the government abide by its promise to revert a 2019 decision to place seminaries under the administrative control of the education ministry.

On the other end were the 10 new seminary boards established after 2019, which seemingly posed a challenge to the monopoly enjoyed by the five traditional seminary boards. These new boards supported the 2019 decision to remain under the education ministry. However, the issue was finally settled at a cabinet meeting last week, and these laws followed in its wake to appease both parties.

Talking to Dawn, Pakistan Ulema Council chairman Tahir Ashrafi said the ordinance issued by the president had put all differences to rest. He said that in light of the ordinance, seminaries now have a choice to either register with the Ministries of Industries and Production under the Societies Act or remain under the Directorate General of Religious Education (DGRE), under the 2019 agreement.

He said the government agreed to the demands of five traditional seminary boards as well as the 10 new boards formed after 2019. The group of 10 seminary boards is led by Tahir Ashrafi and Dr Raghib Naeemi, chairman of the Council of Islamic Ideology.

Meanwhile, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman felicitated the religious seminaries after the presidential assent to the Societies Act 2024. In a message on X (formerly Twitter), the Maulana lauded the efforts of the collective body of the five traditional seminary boards ‘Ittehad Tanzeemat-i-Madaris Deenya’ and called it a success for religious education in the country.

Societies Registration (Amendment)
Act 2024

According to the act, seminaries founded before the act, which have not been registered, must do so within six months of the act’s commencement. Any seminary established after the commencement of the act must register itself within one year.

Seminaries must submit an annual report of their educational activities to the registrar, as well as submit an audit report of its accounts carried out by an auditor.

“No [madressah] shall teach or publish any literature which teaches or promotes militancy or spreads sectarianism or religious hatred,” according to the law. Every madressah shall, subject to their resources, include basic contemporary subjects in their curriculum according to a phased programme, it said. “No [madressah] shall be required to register itself under any other law for the time being in force,” it added.

Kalbe Ali in Islamabad also contributed to this report

Published in Dawn, December 30th, 2024