NA body discusses madrassas registration

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly’s Committee meeting on Education and Training was held on Thursday to discuss madrassas reforms and registration issues.

The meeting was chaired by Under Dr. Azamuddin Zahid Lakhvi.

Director of Religious Education highlighted challenges, stating, “As soon as we initiated the registration process, madrassas refused to comply.” He further added, “Even those madrassas with agreements abruptly declined registration without providing any reasons.”

The director emphasized the need to bridge the gap between “Mr.” and “Maulana,” noting that this distinction should be eliminated. He informed the committee that inspections were conducted in 598 madrassas and cited Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) as the regions posing the most resistance to registration.

“The madrassas in KP and Balochistan are unwilling to register,” he said. However, he assured the committee that there would be no interference in their syllabus or religious teachings.

Dr. Shazia Sobia Soomro remarked, “Registration was crucial for madrassas involved in brainwashing and training suicide bombers.”

The director also explained that the madrassa registration act had been passed by Parliament, and additional guidance would be provided if the ordinance is approved by lawmakers.

Foreign students studying in madrassas were also discussed, with the director stressing the importance of monitoring them as potential ambassadors of Pakistan shared that 1,760 madrassas are affiliated with various boards, while 18,164 have been registered nationwide with the Directorate General of Religious Education.

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The country hosts over 40,000 madrassas, with 1,608 foreign students, including many from Afghanistan, currently enrolled in Pakistan’s madrassas, he told the committee.

Upon inquiry from committee member Aslam Ghuman specifically about the number of Afghan students studying in these institutions, he said he is unable to confirm the exact number at this time.