ISLAMABAD: Amid mounting tensions over the stalled contentious madrassa registration bill, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam’s (JUI-F) Punjab chapter has urged its supporters to get ready for protests against the government, accusing the Centre of reneging on promises regarding the 26th Amendment.
“We believe in reconciliation, but the government is pushing us towards putting up resistance,” a JUI-F Punjab spokesperson said.
The statement from the religio-political party comes hours after President Asif Ali Zardari expressed concerns that if the madrassa bill turns into a law, seminaries will be registered under the Societies Act, which may lead to the imposition of Financial Action Task Force (FATF), Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+), and other sanctions on the country.
Earlier today, the Maulana Fazlur Rehman-led party’s spokesperson claimed that the legislation was being deliberately delayed to appease “international powers.”
Addressing an event at Madrassa Jamia Usmania in KP’s Nowshera on December 7, the party’s chief set December 8 as the deadline for the government to approve the seminary registration bill.
However, hours before the deadline expired, Fazl revisited his decision and extended the deadline to December 17 in a bid to pile up pressure on the government.
The disputed madrassa bill, which has already been passed by both houses of parliament, has become a bone of contention between the religio-political party and the government. Its enactment was a part of an agreement between the two sides for supporting the 26th Amendment, said Fazl.
Earlier this month, President Zardari returned the ‘Societies Registration (Amendment) Bill 2024’ as sources said on December 13 that the president raised eight objections to the bill under which madrassas would be registered.
Among other objections, he highlighted a potential conflict of interest arising from the registration process and expressed concerns about potential negative consequences for Pakistan’s international standing and internal stability.
According to the objections raised by the president, the registration of religious seminaries under the law would lead to the spread of sectarianism and the establishment of many seminaries in the same society would lead to the deterioration of the law and order situation.
The bill
The much-discussed legislation is an amended version of the Societies Registration Act, 1860, which emphasised the registration of madrassas (Islamic seminaries) in existence “within six months” from its enactment.
It also stated that a Deeni Madrassa established after the commencement of the Societies Registration (Amendment) Act, 2024, shall get itself registered “within one year of its establishment”.
A seminary having more than one campus shall need only one registration, it read.
Subsequently, each madrassa would be bound to submit its annual report of its educational activities and audit report to a registrar.
Under the law, a Deeni Madrassa was defined as a religious institution established or operated primarily to impart religious education, which provides boarding and lodging facilities.
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