Lahore (Web Desk): Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) Secretary-General Abdul Ghafoor Haideri has warned the government that his party will organize a march on Islamabad unless the Societies Registration (Amendment) Act, 2024, which deals with the registration of madrassas, is approved.
Haideri expressed his dissatisfaction with what he perceived as the government's deliberate delay in moving forward with the bill.
Although the JUI-F is not looking for confrontation, Haideri made it clear that the party would have no choice but to take action if their demands were ignored. He urged the government to ensure the immediate passage of the bill to avoid further unrest.
Meanwhile, a telephonic conversation between JUI-F's leader, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif took place.
During the call, Fazl conveyed his concerns about the unresolved issue of the madrassa registration bill.
According to a party spokesperson, the prime minister reassured him that the government would address all the issues surrounding the bill and emphasized the need to avoid turning what should be a "consensus bill" into a contentious issue. He also underscored that there would be no compromise on the independence of madrassas.
The Societies Registration (Amendment) Act, 2024, which had already been approved by both houses of Parliament in October, requires madrassas to register within six months of the law's enactment, and for new seminaries, registration must take place within a year of their establishment.
Each madrassa must submit an annual report detailing its educational and financial activities.
While the bill had gained support from various political factions, including the the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), it has yet to be signed into law by President Asif Ali Zardari, leading to frustration within the JUI-F.
Just two days before Haideri's statement, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had met with Maulana Fazl in Islamabad, where the latter voiced his concerns over the president's delay in signing the bill.
In response, Bilawal assured Fazl that he would raise the matter with the government.
Despite this, some within the JUI-F, like Hafiz Hamdullah, have expressed frustration with the government's reluctance to move forward with the bill, suggesting that Bilawal should press his father, President Zardari, to act swiftly, given the importance of upholding parliamentary authority.
Hamdullah warned that if the bill was not signed by December 7, the JUI-F would be forced to announce their future course of action during a gathering in Peshawar on December 8.
