• Says law ministry asked to take immediate action in line with law
• Tahir Ashrafi welcomes move to register madressahs with govt

ISLAMABAD: JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said on Friday that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had assured the party that the issue of madressah registration would be addressed soon.

“The prime minister has ordered the law ministry to take immediate practical measures as per the law and the Constitution regarding the Societies Registration (Amendment) Act 2024,” Maulana said in a presser soon after meeting PM Shehbaz at PM House.

The JUI-F has threatened to launch nationwide protests if the bill — approved by both houses of parliament but pending assent from President Asif Ali Zardari — continues to face delays. The party has accused coalition partners of stalling the process.

The Societies Registration (Amen­dment) Act 2024 proposes reverting the registration of madressahs to the deputy commissioner’s office, as was the practice before 2019. It also requires madressahs to submit annual reports, audited accounts and adhere to restrictions on teaching material that promotes militancy or sectarianism.

Media reports said PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Friday, while presiding over a party meeting, backed JUI-F’s stance regarding the registration of seminaries.

Addressing the press conference, Maulana Fazl said the prime minister had given a positive response to the party’s stance.

The JUI-F chief claimed that the prime minister “immediately ordered the law ministry to take practical measures at once as per the law and the Constitution” regarding the issue.

“Now it remains to be seen when the practical measures [will be taken]. We hope that they will be as per our demands,” the JUI-F chief said, adding that he would apprise the Ittehad Tanzeemat-i-Madaris Pakistan, a federation of the main madressah oversight bodies in the country, about the situation. “I hope that we will hear good news about this in a day or two,” he added.

Maulana Fazl said PM Shehbaz displayed a “good spirit” in the meeting and could be trusted. “He (PM) hoped that the matter would be resolved in line with the law and the Constitution after talks with the premier,” he added.

The JUI-F emir was of the view that his party’s demands were under the law and the Constitution and would be accepted.

However, PM’s Adviser on Law and Justice Barrister Aqeel Malik said in a private TV programme that it would be premature to say where the act would be brought up again for further consideration, but assured that Maulana Fazl’s reservations would be removed.

The bill was approved by the Senate on Oct 20, along with the 26th Amendment. It passed through the National Assembly on Oct 21 and was forwarded to the president on Oct 22.

However, President Asif Ali Zardari had returned the bill to the National Assembly with certain objections on Oct 29 before flying to the United Arab Emirates.

When the JUI-F chief learnt of the development, he threatened to launch protests against the government to force it to accept the bill.

Ashrafi welcomes

Pakistan Ulema Council Chairman Maulana Tahir Mahmood Ashrafi welcomed the registration of madressahs with government ministries, but urged against exploiting the students and institutions for political gains.

“There are 15 madressah boards registered with the government,” Mr Ashrafi said in a video statement posted on X. “Of those, there are five that want to be registered with the Ministry of Industries, while 10 want to be registered with the Ministry of Education’s (MoE) department for religious education.”

There were 18,600 madressahs registered with the education ministry with 2.3 million students, he said, adding that madressahs should have the freedom to choose the ministry they register with.

Published in Dawn, December 21st, 2024