Nowshera/Islamabad: Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Saturday gave a one-day ultimatum to the government to finalize the madrassa registration bill or else his party would launch a protest movement.
Addressing a reception at the Jamia Osmania Jalozai campus, he warned that if the government did not move forward, a nationwide anti-government movement would be launched against the rulers.
He criticized the delay in passing the bill, which was earlier unanimously approved during talks involving President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and PML-N President Nawaz Sharif.
Maulana said that despite being approved by the National Assembly and the Senate, the President’s objections have stopped its implementation. He said that I will not accept a single amendment in the bill.
Highlighting the importance of the bill, the JUIF leader said that it was drafted by mutual consensus with the objective of providing autonomy to religious madrasas in choosing their registration bodies.
He criticized the government for the contradictions in its approach, including closing the accounts of madrasas and putting pressure on institutions under the guise of regulation.
Maulana lamented the diminishing role of Islamic education in government schools and emphasized the importance of madrasas in protecting Islam from modern challenges. He rejected the claims that madrasahs are against modern education.
He reiterated his commitment to peaceful talks but warned that continued efforts to marginalize madrassas would force a strong response. He said that we don’t want confrontation but if pressure is applied we will demonstrate.
The JUIF leader announced plans to unveil the future course of action at an upcoming conference in solidarity with the Palestinians. He said that any attempt to abolish Madrasahs will be strongly opposed.
Maulana Fazlur Rehman assured that his party is in touch with other religious leaders including Mufti Taqi Usmani and will continue to consult to protect the interests of religious schools. He said that conspiracies are being made to weaken the country, his party will thwart such attempts.
Maulana warned that the ongoing political crisis is leading the country to mistrust and stressed on an environment of mutual trust. He lamented the government’s failure to defuse tensions, which he believed would intensify public protests.
The JUIF chief said that law and order has deteriorated in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and people are facing many problems but the government has failed to provide security to the people.
Meanwhile, Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Chaudhry Salik Hussain rejected the impression of rolling back the system of registration of religious madrasas and at the same time refused to accept the demand for a new system for registration of madrasas.
In a statement on Saturday, the minister said that the registration system for religious madrasas is already in place under the Directorate of Religious Education. “The Ministry of Education and the Directorate of Religious Education have already facilitated the registration of madrasas,” he said.
He said that after years of efforts, a one-window system for the registration of madrasas was devised under the Directorate General of Religious Education and under this system, about 18,000 religious madrasas have been registered. Earlier, religious madrasas faced legal complications and lengthy process for their registration. “Accepting the demand for a new registration system would mean placing a profession under the jurisdiction of an unrelated ministry,” he said. He pointed out that if the demand for the introduction of a new system of registration of madrasas is accepted, all the previous efforts will be wasted. He said that religious schools are educational institutions and not industrial institutions.
The minister said that the system of the country is running according to the norms, rules and regulations and it is not based on the wishes of any institution. The Minister said that some time is needed to iron out the legal complexities in shaping the Societies Registration (Amendment) Bill, 2024 into an Act of Parliament. This does not mean that the entire system of registration of religious schools will be withdrawn.
Salik Hussain said that the government fulfilled its promise by accepting the demand of Maulana Fazlur Rahman and passing the bill for the registration of religious schools in the parliament. He pointed out that religious schools are also educational institutions that come under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education.
Meanwhile, the Federation of Madrasas Al Arabiya Pakistan has expressed regret over the undue delay in resolving the issue related to the registration of religious madrasas.
In a statement on Saturday, the Federation of Schools said that despite consensus among all stakeholders, the issue is being confused further, which will worsen the situation. The delay in passing the Madrasas Registration Bill as an Act of Parliament does not bode well for the country and the nation. It has been said in the statement that it is a great injustice to deprive the male and female students of Madrasahs of basic human rights and a bright future.
Al-Madaris al-Arabiya Association also appreciated the efforts of Maulana Fazlur Rehman for madrasas across the country. This statement was jointly issued by Maulana Imdadullah (Sindh), Maulana Salahuddin (Balochistan), Maulana Hussain Ahmad (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Maulana Zubair Siddiqui (South Punjab), Maulana Qazi Nisar (Gilgit-Baltistan) and Syed Adnan. What has been released? Shah (Azad Jammu and Kashmir).
He said that the tactics of restricting the autonomy and independence of religious schools and the international agenda are not acceptable at all. He said that he always took the path of negotiation and did not choose movement and protest, but unfortunately, issues related to madrasas are being confused. He demanded the government to inform the nation about the agreements made with foreign powers or international organizations regarding the issues of Madrasahs.
He said that we don’t know what forces are creating obstacles to solve the problem despite all the stakeholders being on the same page.
Meanwhile, Pakistan Ulama Council (PUC) Chairman Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Ashrafi said that Maulana Fazlur Rehman and the government know better what agreement was reached between them regarding madrasas (religious schools) but all educational systems in Pakistan are under the Ministry of Education. are attached to, and similarly religious madrasas have also been attached to the DG Office for Religious Education. But now Maulana Fazlur Rehman is demanding that the religious madrassas be linked to the Ministry of Industry. I don’t understand what education has to do with the Ministry of Industry or the Ministry of Home Affairs and I am sure it will not be beneficial for religious madrassas,” he said while talking to News.
PUC Chairman Hafiz Tahir Ashrafi said that we had demanded that the religious madrassas should be linked to the Ministry of Education and we wanted to link all the religious schools in Pakistan. They are protectors of religious schools. There is no threat to any religious madrassas in the country and no action will be taken against any religious madrassas nor any crackdown. Will be.