Madrassa registration bill enacted, gazette notification issued

Madrassa registration law enacted as ‘Societies Registration Amendment Act 2024’ notified by NA

ISLAMABAD: The registration of madrassah law has finally been enacted as President Asif Ali Zardari signed the bill into law. The National Assembly Secretariat has also issued the gazette notification of the Societies Registration Amendment Act, 2024.

“Madrassa” has been defined as “a religious institution and includes a Jamia or Dar-ul-Uloom, called by any other name, established or operated primarily for the purposes of imparting religious education, which provides boarding and lodging facilities”.

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The signature and the notification come after a protracted battle between the government and religious leaders and seminaries’ representatives. Most importantly, the notification finally spells an end to the back and forth debate between the government and the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman.

SOCIETIES REGISTRATION AMENDMENT ACT 2024

The passage of this bill was one of the conditions laid down by JUI in exchange for support at the time of the passage of the 26th constitutional amendment.

No Madrassa shall teach or publish any literature which promotes militancy or spreads sectarianism or religious hatred.

Detailed below are the clauses of the newly enacted Societies Registration Act, that will govern the establishment and the operations of the religious seminaries across Pakistan:

1- Madrasas established before the enactment of the Societies Registration Amendment Bill must register within six months.

2- Religious madrasas established after this bill must register within one year.

3- Religious madrasas with more than one campus need only one registration.

4- Every religious madrasa will submit an annual report of its activities to the Registrar.

5- Every madrasa will get its accounts audited and submit the audit report to the Registrar.

6- No madrasa will publish or teach material based on extremism, religious hatred.

GOVT-MAULANA DEADLOCK

The discussions and disagreements over the bill have continued for weeks. Maulana had also threatened the government with an ‘Islamabad march’. Both houses of the parliament had already approved the bill.

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Previously, the madrassas were to be registered as educational institutions. After the amendment, now the Act allows the religious seminaries to be registered as ‘associations’ with the industries ministry. The act was amended through an ordinance, following which the bill has now been signed into law.

Yesterday, President Zardari met with the JUI-F delegation led by Maulana Rashid Mehmood Somro. He assured them of addressing Maulana’s concerns. The president had also previously raised objections on the registration process of madrassas. He had also highlighted its potential negative effects on Pakistan’s internal and external standing.