THE government’s campaign to register madressahs in the country and obtain data of their teachers, students and financial/material resources has met with strong resistance from the seminaries’ bodies as they have opposed the registration process.

The secretary general of the Ittehad-i-Tanzeemat-i-Madaris-i-Deenia (ITMD), the umbrella group representing the madressahs of five major sects in Pakistan, Maulana Mohammad Hanif Jalandhri, has expressed reservations about the process of registration of seminaries under the National Action Plan. He has flatly refused to comply with the government decision and provide the details the government is seeking for registration of madressahs, which the government believes will help root out militancy and extremism from the country.

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This reporter spoke to Maulana Jalandhri to know why the ITMD is opposing the process of registration of seminaries. Here is what he said:

Q: Why are you opposing the process of registration of seminaries?

A: The government is not following an earlier agreement reached between us (ITMD) and the government for registration of seminaries. If they [the authorities] want to register all seminaries and obtain data, they should follow the 2005 agreement. They themselves are violating that agreement.

Q: What was the agreement and how is the government violating it?

A: We had agreed to register the seminaries after mutual consultations (between the government and the seminaries board). But now the government has introduced six to seven different questionnaires on its own and is asking us to answer all these questions. We have objection to it.

Q: What specific questions in these questionnaires do you think are objectionable?

A: It’s not only the matter of objectionable questions, but the government is not following the earlier agreement. They are not following even the decisions they have just taken. They issued a notification on Jan 20, 2015 about setting up of a consultative committee to discuss this issue. This committee comprises members of the government and seminaries. But they did not call its meeting and tried to impose this questionnaire on us. They are trying to obtain information in violation of this notification and we have our objections to it.

Q: What objections or reservations do you have about the questions?

A: We have objections that they have presented this questionnaire in violation of our earlier agreement with them.

Q: There are reports that you have reservations about giving data of teachers’ families?

A: No, it’s not the case. But we want them to follow the agreements we have already had. We want consultations on this whole issue.

Q: So, otherwise the registration process can’t be completed?

A: No.

Q: Then what is the solution?

A: The solution is that the authorities should call a meeting of the committee they have formed themselves. They should hold consultation on all these questions with us first; get a mutual agreement on it and then they should send it to the seminaries for answers. Otherwise the process of registration will never be completed.

Q: And when you oppose this registration process, you oppose it and raise objections to it in the capacity of an office-bearer of the Wifaq-ul-Madaris Al-Arabia or as the secretary general of the ITMD?

A: As the secretary general of the Ittehad-i-Tanzeemat-i-Madaris-i-Deenia. We all are united in opposing this process of registration; I represent the seminaries of all five schools of thought.

Published in Dawn, February 5th, 2015

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