Fazl Refuses To Accept Any Proposal From Govt On Madrassa Bill

JUI-F chief asks if the President can sign other bills, then why did he return the Madrassa Bill with objections

CHARSADDA: (UrduPoint/UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News-Dec 9^th, 2024) Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Monday said that they would not accept any proposal from the government regarding the Madrassa Bill.

Maulana Fazlur Rehman said if they present any amendments, they are not even ready to consider or touch their proposal, let alone accept it.

Maulana Fazlur Rehman said that Nawaz Sharif, Asif Zardari, the Senate and the National Assembly were all in agreement regarding the Madrassa Bill. The bill was presented in the Senate, passed by the National Assembly, and then signed by the President.

“If the President can sign other bills, then why did he return the Madrassa Bill with objections?,” he asked while addressing a press conference in Charsadda on Monday.

He added that today a new narrative is being pushed, claiming that madrassas were previously affiliated with the Ministry of Education.

He clarified that the Madrassa Bill gives all madrassas full freedom to affiliate with any Federal institution they choose, whether under the 1860 Act or the Ministry of Education.

“There is no objection to this, and every madrassa is free to choose, so what is there to object to?,” he asked.

He stated that the efforts underway to bring religious scholars into opposition with one another.

He said, “There is no division within the madrassas on this bill; all scholars and madrassas are in agreement,”.

Fazl urged that no new controversies be created, as there is a deliberate attempt to divide the scholars.

He announced that they were about to make a final statement, but Mufti Taqi Usmani and the President of the Wafaq ul Madaris informed them that they had called an important meeting on December 17. Therefore, they postponed their decisions until that meeting, after which a unanimous decision would be made.

While responding to a question, Fazl said that the government should not politicize this issue.

“We are talking about the law while they want to place madrassas under an executive order. They are trying to regulate madrassas under the law but still want to preserve the freedom and autonomy of madrassas. When we registered under the Ministry of education and accepted their terms, they imposed a directorate on us through an executive order. This means they want to subordinate us, but madrassas are not ready to be controlled,”.

On another question, he said that even Pakistan's intelligence agencies were in agreement on the Madrassa Bill. The matters, he said, were settled with their consensus.

Although they are not visible, they remain in contact.

“Our question is, when everything was agreed upon, what has changed now? This is the malice behind it,” said the JUI-F chief.

He said, “We have already won. The parliament has passed this bill. What has been decided must be strengthened. Until then, we will not accept any proposal from the government. If they present any amendments, we are not even ready to touch their draft, let alone accept it,”.