DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Thursday warned that his party would stage street protests across the country if the federal government didn’t ensure early implementation of the madressah registration bill passed by parliament.

He told a presser at his residence in Shorkot area here that he rejected the federal government’s decision on seminary registration with the education ministry.

Mr Fazl said that his party had raised its concerns about the madressah registration bill with the country’s president.

He said that after the passage of the 26th Constitutional Amendment Bill in parliament with consensus from the Pakistan Peoples Party, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and other political parties, objections to the proposed seminary law should have ceased.

Alleges govt trying to create division among clerics

“There is no room for objections to the madressah bill,” he said.

The JUI-F leader said that his party had accepted the official draft of the 26th Constitutional Amendment, but the federal government was attempting to create divisions among religious scholars over the seminary bill.

He said that his party would foil such bids.

Mr Fazl wondered why the president was delaying the signing of the madressah bill and raising objections about it after the approval of the constitutional amendment by parliament.

“We believe that the [madressah] bill has become an act of parliament because it’s part of the recently-enacted Constitutional Amendment,” he said.

The JUI-F leader urged the president to sign the proposed law without delay for its immediate notification.

He alleged that the federal government and certain state institutions were leading the country to crises on the issue.

Mr Fazl insisted that the government had promised that seminaries would have the option of affiliating themselves with the education ministry or under the Societies Act.

“The government has broken that promise,” he said, advocating for the registration of madressahs with the education ministry only.

The JUI-F chief said that the bill was drafted by the government ahead of the last general elections.

He raised concern about the “creation of a new seminary organisation” and urged religious scholars not to be used to fuel disputes on the issue.

“If the rulers don’t change their current attitude, we will launch protests across the country and engage with the people,” he said.

Mr Fazl welcomed talks between the government and the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf as a good initiative and said that he had always believed in sorting out political and other issues through dialogue.

He complained about the poor law and order situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and insisted that the government lacked writ in the province.

The JUI-F leader said that the people of the province felt insecure as miscreants were present even in villages.

“Where there is no peace, there is no prosperity,” he said.

Mr Fazl criticised Israel for “subjecting Palestinians to terrorism with the support of the US and UK.”

He parried a question about the indictment of former chief of Inter-Services Intelligence retired Let Gen Faiz Hameed by a military court for allegedly engaging in political activities, violating anti-espionage laws, and abusing his authority, and said that it was the army’s internal matter, so he won’t comment on it.

The JUI-F leader expressed condolences over the death of Khalilur Rehman Haqqani, Afghan refugee minister and brother of Haqqani Network’s founder Jalaluddin Haqqani, in Kabul blast and said that the sacrifices of the Haqqani family for Afghanistan were no secret.

Published in Dawn, December 13th, 2024