Govt ‘proposes’ new draft for seminary bill to JUI-F; Tarar says benefits of registering Madaris begin to yield positive results
The government has handed over a revised draft regarding seminary registration to Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-F.
The development came during a consultation between JUI-F Senator Kamran Murtaza and the government’s legal team to end the deadlock on the seminary registration bill.
Options, including accepting the 2019 agreement, have been proposed to JUI-F.
The government expressed willingness to cooperate if madrassas opt for registration under the Ministry of Education, sources said. Alternatively, registration under DC offices or the Ministry of Interior is also a possibility under the new legislation.
Meanwhile, an important meeting of Ulema and Mashaikh regarding the registration and reforms of religious seminaries was held in Islamabad on Monday.
Addressing the meeting, Minister for Education Dr. Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui clarified that the decision to register seminaries was made with consensus in 2019. He emphasized that the aim was not to control the religious seminaries, but rather to ensure that the entire country could benefit from them. He said the Ministry of Education would continue to extend support to religious seminaries.
Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar Advocate said the benefits of registering religious Madaris with the Ministry of Education have begun to yield positive results. He mentioned that students of the Madaris are now shining in various fields, including science and Information Technology.
He said the registration mechanism was evolved after extensive consultations with religious scholars of all schools of thought. He said the main aim was to bring the students of religious Madaris to the national mainstream. He appreciated the cooperation of the religious scholars in this regard.
The Information Minister said we will also listen to the suggestions of JUI-F Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on the matter. He said it will be our endeavour to come up with a solution that is acceptable to all.
During the conference, Maulana Tahir Ashrafi, Chairman of the Pakistan Ulema Council, tabled a resolution urging govt to maintain the existing system of religious schools and the directorate should not be abolished under any circumstances.
The resolution, which was adopted by the conference, also demanded that the seminaries should remain associated with the Ministry of Education.
Addressing religious scholars, Tahir Ashrafi said the government had held detailed discussions on the registration of seminaries.
