Govt backs president on madrassa bill issue

As the simmering tensions over the madrassa registration bill opens another front between the government and the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), both sides exchanged barbs over the bill's approval on Saturday, further muddying the waters over the legislative battle – a ball now in the parliament's court.

While the government defended President Asif Ali Zardari's objections as valid and constitutional, the JUI-F blasted the government's move to stall the process as a ploy to expose its "true motives".

Meanwhile, the political ripples of the legislative battle widened with several stakeholders, including the Pakistan Ulema Council (PUC), throwing weight behind the demand for registration of madrassas.

Despite being passed by both houses of parliament, the bill remains in limbo after the president returned it with eight objections. The move has drawn sharp criticism from JUI-F, whose chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman views the delay as a calculated attempt to undermine madrassas.

However, sources said that back-channel negotiations are underway.

On the other hand, Federal Minister for Information Attaullah Tarar dismissed the allegations as baseless, asserting that the president's objections are purely constitutional.

"There is no mention of FATF in the objections, nor is there any connection," Tarar clarified, adding, "Politicking over constitutional matters serves no one".

"In these objections, there is no mention of FATF, nor they have any connection with it," said the minister in a post on X formerly Twitter.

He said it is not in the interest of anyone to politicize the constitutional and legal matters. "Linking the registration of seminaries with FATF is nothing but a creation of complete imagination and speculation", he said.

The constitution elaborated the complete procedure for legislation, he said, adding the president objected in accordance with the Constitution and the Parliament would also rectify it in the same spirit.

The purpose of these speculations is to target the powers of the president and Parliament, he said, while urging the people not to criticize the issue just for the sake of criticism.

The federal minister was responding to allegations made by JUI-F's Hafiz Hamdullah.

Reacting to the legislation's objections on Saturday, JUI-F leader Hafiz Hamdullah claimed that the government's "prime objective is handing over seminaries to FATF at the behest of the global anti-money laundering watchdog".

"It has also proved that this is not the parliament of Pakistan but FATF's," he stated, adding that the country's "parliament is not independent to legislate [laws]."

Hamdullah further said that if legal experts at the President's House had properly reviewed the madrassa registration bill, such objections would not have arisen.

Meanwhile, JUI-F spokesperson Senator Kamran Murtaza confirmed ongoing dialogue with the government but maintained the party's firm stance. "We are unwavering in our position. This bill touches on critical issues, and we will not step back," he said.

Separately, speaking to the media in Karachi earlier on Saturday, Federal Education Minister Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui noted that objections from 10 out of 15 seminaries' boards prompted the federal government to review the bill.

He also mentioned that efforts were underway to formalise the Combative Societies Act.

In a related development, throwing weight behind madrassa registration, Pakistan Ulema Council (PUC) Chairman Hafiz Tahir Ashrafi also urged the removal of hurdles to madrassa registration, highlighting their vital role in serving the country's Muslim population.

He suggested that the seminaries should have the option to register under either the Ministry of Education or the Ministry of Religious Affairs.

Ashrafi stressed the immediate need to address registration obstacles, safeguard the 18,600 seminaries already registered with the Ministry of Education, and resolve financial and operational challenges faced by these institutions.

He called for continued dialogue to achieve positive outcomes without compromising the facilities provided to seminaries. "The future of madrassas and their students is the government's responsibility," he said, urging constructive engagement to bridge differences.

Meanwhile, Punjab Governor Sardar Saleem Haider clarified that President Asif Ali Zardari has not placed any obstacles in the way of the contentious bill.

Speaking to the media in Chakwal, Haider explained that various suggestions from religious scholars regarding the madrassa bill need to be consolidated, aiming to bring all parties on the same page.

He stressed the importance of uniting religious leaders, including Maulana Fazlur Rehman, to form a consensus on the bill.

"The goal is to present a registration bill for madrassas that will be acceptable to all schools of thought," said Haider. He further highlighted that local government elections have already been held in three provinces, with only Punjab pending.

"Now, it is time for the Punjab government to announce the local government elections," he added.

To break the current deadlock, the government has forwarded a summary to the president, seeking a joint session of parliament. If convened, the session would allow the bill to be passed by a simple majority, effectively overriding the president's objections.