- Fazl’s remarks come hours before the deadline expired.
- Meeting to be convened to develop a common strategy: Fazl.
- The leader says the bill was passed but sent back by the president.
Pressuring the government over the Seminary Enrollment Bill, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Sunday threatened the ruling coalition that no one would be able to him block the way if she decided to take a long walk. on Islamabad during a meeting of Tanzeem Ittehadul Madaris scheduled for December 17.
His remarks came just hours before the expiration of the deadline set by the political-religious party. The JUI-F has set December 8 as the deadline for the government to approve the seminary registration bill.
Addressing a public gathering in Peshawar, the JUI-F chief said a meeting of Ittehadul Madaris – a conglomerate of different Madaris organizations representing major schools of thought – would be convened to work out a common strategy on the Madaris registration bill.
“A unanimous decision will be taken at the Ittehadul Madaris meeting on December 17.”
He said the bill was passed separately by the Senate and the National Assembly with the consent of government allies, but the president returned the bill.
Last week, President Asif Ali Zardari returned the bill, raising some objections, including that education is a provincial subject.
Addressing the participants, Fazl asked: “Is signing the bill not malice and fraud? Are you ready or not, if we decide to march on Islamabad?
As per the agreement signed with the government, Madaris would be affiliated but not under the Ministry of Education, he added. “Attempts were made to keep Madaris under the Ministry of Education by forming a leadership.”
A day earlier, the JUI-F leader had said he wanted to stay within his boundaries and did not want confrontation with the state.
Expressing his dissatisfaction with the difference between ancient and modern education, he said: “Knowledge is knowledge.”
He said all religious seminaries were being kept “under pressure.”
So-called reforms were imposed on madrassas in the name of integrating seminaries into the mainstream.
“You declared war on us, we didn’t.”
Responding to a question, the JUI-F leader said the government was pushing the seminaries towards extremism and radicalism.
On the other hand, Minister of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Chaudhry Salik Hussain said yesterday that registration of seminars was a long-standing requirement.
“It will take some time to give legal shape to the Madrasa Registration Bill,” the minister said.
By agreeing to Maulana’s request, the government secured approval of the bill from both houses of parliament, he said. “Madrasahs are also educational institutions that come under the sole jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education.”
The minister said: “18,000 madrassas have been registered with the General Directorate of Religious Education. »
There was a one-stop shop at the General Directorate to facilitate the registration process.