ISLAMABAD – In response to stern warnings from the JUI-F leadership over delays in the enactment of the Societies Registration (Amendment) Act, 2024, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari rushed to meet JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Wednesday. The meeting aimed to address concerns regarding the delay in signing the madressah registration bill by President Asif Ali Zardari.
Senior JUI-F members informed the media that they had received assurances from the PPP that President Zardari would sign the bill soon. However, they noted that some powers were opposing the amended act, which had already been passed by both houses of parliament.
The two-hour meeting, which concluded around 8:30 PM, included key JUI-F figures such as Senator Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, Senator Kamran Murtaza, Haji Ghulam Ali, Maulana Lutfur Rehman, and Maulana Asad Mahmood. They expressed serious concern over the delay in the signing of the bill, which had been approved by the Senate in October.
Maulana Haideri, speaking to the media after the meeting, expressed disappointment over the president’s delay in signing the bill. He emphasized that the president represents the federation and is not affiliated with any political party, despite being from the PPP. Haideri added that obstacles in the bill’s enactment were coming from elsewhere, without naming any specific person or authority.
The Societies Registration (Amendment) Act, 2024, extends the Societies Registration Act, 1860, and includes provisions for the registration of ‘Deeni Madaris’ under the relevant deputy commissioner office. The bill specifies that a madressah with more than one campus needs only one registration, and every madressah must submit an annual report of its educational activities to the registrar. Additionally, each madressah must have its accounts audited by an auditor and submit the audit report to the registrar. The bill also states that no madressah should teach or publish literature that promotes militancy, sectarianism, or religious hatred.
The bill was part of an agreement between JUI-F and the government in support of the 26th Amendment. The PTI-led government had initially transferred the registration of seminaries to the education departments in October 2019, a decision welcomed by the joint body of religious seminaries representing all four mainstream Islamic sects in the country. However, seminaries affiliated with the JUI-F rejected the idea of placing madressahs under the education department and opposed incorporating conventional education into religious seminaries due to political differences with the PTI government.