KARACHI, Aug 7: The President of Tanzeem-ul-Madaris Ahle Sunnat, Mufti Muneeb-ur-Rehman, has demanded the government to review its decision of expelling all foreign students studying in seminaries, saying the decision is against national interests, the ummah and religion.

Drawing the government’s attention, Mufti Rehman said in a statement that the decision would pave way for India to be known as a centre for promotion of Islamic teachings and training, and then all students would go to India and play the role of ambassadors for India.

With reference to a meeting of ulema with the interior minister, Mufti Rehman, who is also a leader of the Ittehad Tanzeemat Madaris-i-Deenia, dispelled confusion about the meeting and said that closing the doors of religious education on foreign students due to a few suspicious students would be an unwise decision.

Besides this, the decision, which was contrary to the objectives of an ideological Islamic state, was also against the international law of fundamental human rights.

“All those people who are settled in the US, Canada, Europe and Africa for many generations have close ethnic roots in the country. They come to Pakistan to acquire religious education so they can protect their values and culture,” he said.

He said that as far as registration of religious institution was concerned, most of the madressahs were already registered under the Societies Act 1860 or Trust Act 1882. As such, they were not averse to the idea of registration.