Fazl slams attempt to 'divide ulema'

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has said that the government should not turn the issue of legislation on religious madrassas into a political battleground.

He emphasised that they were talking about a law while the government wanted to place madrassas under an executive order. Fazl was speaking during a press conference in Charsadda.

He said he would not accept any proposals from the government on the madrassa bill and, should the government propose any amendments, he would reject them outright without even considering them.

He explained that Nawaz Sharif, Asif Zardari, the Senate and the National Assembly had agreed to the madrassa bill. "The bill had been presented in the Senate, passed by the National Assembly, and signed by the President," he asserted.

Maulana Fazlur Rehman questioned as to why the president had returned this particular bill with objections when he had signed others.

He said the government was making new claims and suggesting that madrassas had previously been affiliated with the Ministry of Education. He clarified that the madrassa bill allowed seminaries complete freedom to affiliate with any federal institution, whether under the 1860 Act or the Ministry of Education.

He stressed that the religious education community was united on the bill and that there was no division on it among religious scholars. He accused the government of attempting to divide the scholars and create disagreements where none existed.

Maulana Fazlur Rehman announced that he was about to make a final statement when he received information that the president of the Wifaqul Madaris had called for an important meeting on December 17.

As a result, he had decided to hold off on making a collective decision on the matter until after that meeting.

He emphasised that the government should refrain from making the issue political as this was a legal matter.

He pointed out that while the government was trying to regularise madrassas under the law, he wanted to ensure that seminaries maintained their autonomy. Maulana Fazlur Rehman added that when he had agreed to have seminaries registered under the Ministry of Education, the government had imposed a directorate on them via an executive order. He called this an attempt to place madrassas under government control and said he would not allow madrassas to be subjugated.

He further mentioned that even Pakistan's intelligence agencies had agreed on the madrassa bill, that all matters had been settled with their consent and that, even though they were not visible, they remained in contact.

He questioned as to why things had changed after everything had been agreed upon. This, he said, reflected bad intentions. Fazl insisted that parliament had already passed the bill and his party now wanted to strengthen what had been agreed upon.

"Now, we will not accept any proposals from the government and if any amendments are suggested, we will not entertain them", he said.