Pakistan Ulema Council chairman Hafiz Tahir Ashrafi has warned that altering madressah registration would threaten hundreds of students’ futures.

“Don’t play with hundreds of students’ futures,” he said while appearing on News Insight with Amir Zia which was aired on Aaj News on Tuesday.

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. Moreover, each madressah must have its accounts audited by an auditor and submit the audit report to the registrar.

The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-F has warned of protest in Islamabad if the government did not accept its demand. Fazl told his supporters on Sunday that his party was waiting for December 17 when the party leaders would meet Mufti Taqi Usmani to deliberate on the matter.

When asked about the issue behind the matter, Ashrafi said that it was “only a statement” linked to an agreement signed in 2019 on religious schools’ demands. All madressah organisations agreed that the system of madressahs should be linked with the education ministry and a new board should be allowed, he added.

According to the PUC chairman, madressahs of Mufti Taqi Usmani and Mufti Muneebur Rehman signed the agreement. It was decided that all system of seminaries would be registered with the education ministry. But Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl head Maulana Fazlur Rehman wanted that the law should be revised and madressahs should only register with the industries ministry, he added.

“As many as 18,600 madressahs have registered themselves with the Director General of Religious Education. Hundreds of students are linked to it,” he said and suggested that madressahs should be registered with the education ministry.

While explaining the objection to such logic, he said: “It is like you say that register TV channels, and newspapers to the agriculture or interior ministries and not with the information ministry.”

Ashrafi clarified that religious scholars have no issues with Fazl. “If the Maulana wants to register with the industry, defence, or agriculture ministry, he may do.”

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He wondered why the JUI-F leader signed the agreement if there were concerns.

“We want that our madressah association to registered with the education ministry. It should remain like that and the DGRE office system should continue. We have issues on some things related to the bank account, but it does not mean we take it to a different ministry.”

In response to a question, he thanked Fazl for accepting them by commenting on Monday’s conference. “It is a matter between Maulana and the government,” Ashrafi said.