ISLAMABAD Sept 28: The registration of around 9,000 madressahs across the country is unlikely to start early and, therefore, may not be completed before the stipulated deadline of December 31.

This time-frame had been agreed between the government and the Ittehad Tanzeemat Madaris Deeniah (ITMD), a conglomerate of five leading religious education institutions (wafaqs).

According to official sources, the registration process will start after the passage of amendments to the presidential ordinance by parliament, as had been agreed by the government, it was learnt.

A false impression had emerged following the ‘successful’ negotiations between the ITMD representatives and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Friday that the registration process would start immediately and be completed by December 31.

The government is confident to get the changed ordinance passed by parliament within the holy month of Ramazan and the process of registration will start immediately after that.

According to a rough estimate, there are a total of 16,000 madressahs in the country of which 13000 are affiliated with the ITMD. Some 6,000 of them are already registered under the Act of 1860 which will not be required to register afresh.

The ministry of religious affairs, which is handling the matter of madressahs’ registration, will soon take up the proposed changes in the amended ordinance with the ministry of law so that the final draft is submitted to the National Assembly in its Ramazan session.

Following the enactment of the amended law, the ministry will print new registration forms for distribution through registrar societies and the special registration cells set up in the provinces.

Earlier, the ministry had supplied 9,500 forms based on the amended Registration of Societies Act 1860 which will be abandoned. Registration will be confirmed within one week of submission of new forms.

Secretary of religious affairs ministry Vakil Ahmed Khan told Dawn by telephone that it had been agreed between the government and the ITMD leadership that the process of registration will start only when the presidential ordinance was changed to their satisfaction.