ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari has highlighted potential “international consequences” for not signing off on the madressah registration bill passed by parliament, it emerged, as religiopolitical parties continue to criticise the government for deliberately delaying the process.
Controversy persists in the country related to the Societies Registration (Amendment) Act, 2024 — a new law passed by parliament which relates to the regulatory affairs of madressahs. President Zardari has yet to grant it presidential assent, prompting the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) to criticise ruling coalition parties for using ‘delaying tactics’ regarding the bill.
The bill pertains to the registration of seminaries by the relevant deputy commissioner’s office, as it was before 2019.
President Zardari had returned the bill to the National Assembly with certain objections on October 29, before flying to the United Arab Emirates. The bill was approved by the Senate on Oct 20, along with the 26th amendment. It passed through the National Assembly on Oct 21 and was forwarded to the president on Oct 22.
A document from the president to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, dated November 13 and available with Dawn.com, said: “Lawmakers should keep in mind the international environment that when a madressahis registered under a society, which has conflicting interests, [it] would invite international criticism/sanctions for Pakistan.
“If the existing procedure for madressah registration is obviated, it could be perilous as it may invite Financial Action Task Force, Generalised System of Preferences-Plus and other international institutions to review their opinion about Pakistan.”
The president said that the preamble of the Societies Registration Act specified its fields and madressah education was not reflected in them. The president explained that one of the subjects was fine arts, including dancing, sculpturing, music, painting etc., and thus, including madressah education in the law would contradict the preamble and could be challengeable in terms of Article 227 of the Constitution and vice versa.
The president further said that the establishment of madressahs under the act would make societies established under the law vulnerable to “further sectarianism and other divisive tendencies”, saying that the formation of a madressah under one society would mean that “few people would establish numerous Madrasahs under one society and it would create fiefdoms”.
