'2.2m students enrolled in madrassas'

Upper House refers Tax Laws Amendment Bill to finance committee

ISLAMABAD:

The total number of registered religious madrassas across the country is 17,738, with 2,249,520 students enrolled, stated the Ministry of Education as it submitted details of religious seminaries to the Senate.

Meanwhile, the Tax Laws Amendment Bill, presented earlier in the National Assembly, was also introduced on Thursday and referred to the Senate Finance Committee for further deliberation.

The Senate session, chaired by Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani, convened on Thursday morning during which details about nationwide madrassa registrations were presented. In response to a question from a Senate member, the Ministry of Education disclosed that there are 17,738 registered madrassas with 2,249,520 students enrolled.

The detailed statistics revealed that Punjab has 664,065 students, Sindh 188,182, Balochistan 71,815, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa 1,283,024, Azad Kashmir 26,787, Islamabad 11,301, and Gilgit-Baltistan 4,346 students.

The written response also clarified that no direct financing is provided to madrassas. However, the Directorate General of Religious Education (DGRE) has supplied 1,196 teachers to 598 madrassas.

During the session, the government introduced the Tax Laws Amendment Bill 2024, which was referred to the Finance Committee for further review. Separately, journalists staged a walkout from the press gallery in protest against the handling of cases under the PECA Act, prompting Senate members to assure that the matter would be addressed.

In a call-to-attention notice regarding the Kurram Parachinar situation, PTI ally Senator Allama Raja Nasir Abbas demanded action from the federal and provincial governments. He alleged that innocent people were killed in Kurram and stated that despite informing Imran Khan about the deteriorating situation, their concerns were ignored.

He criticised the lack of action, saying that neither the federal nor the provincial governments took effective steps.

Allama Raja Nasir Abbas added that he visited the area personally, and observed no sectarian conflict and unity among the locals. However, he criticised the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government and questioned why those responsible for the killings and subsequent attacks were not arrested.

In the absence of the Federal interior minister, the Minister for Religious Affairs Chaudhry Salik Hussain responded, calling it a provincial matter, but assured federal cooperation if required.

He emphasised that maintaining law and order is a provincial responsibility, but reaffirmed that the Centre would provide full support if requested.