LAHORE: Only one seminary is registered with the Auqaf Department, Punjab, under the Punjab Waqf Properties (Amendment) Act 2020 (Act XX of 2020), The News has learnt. Abdul Razaq, assistant director, Auqaf Department, confirmed that only one seminary, Jamia Faridia Sahiwal, was registered with the Auqaf Department under the Punjab Waqf Properties (Amendment) Act 2020.
Talking to The News, Additional Secretary Nabeela Javed and Director State Land Waseem Abbas shared that once seminaries were declared Waqf properties, the department would register them under the Act.
According to the amended Section 6 of the Punjab Waqf Ordinance 1979, any person who creates a Waqf property must register it with the chief administrator within 90 days. Failure to do so results in a fine of Rs50,000 per day for the first 90 days, which increases to Rs100,000 per day thereafter. The underlying purpose of this amendment was to counter terrorist financing, but recent developments have raised concerns about its enforcement.
A sitting Member of National Assembly, Arshad Sahi, established a seminary on the provincial government land in Chak No 84 R.B, Tehsil Shahkot, District Nankana Sahib. Records from various Jamabandis (land records) dating from 1987 to 2008 confirm that Arshad is listed as manager of the madrasa. Talking to The News, Arshad said he had filed a petition (No 26061/2019) with the higher court in 2019, claiming that the land was a provincial property and sought its transfer to the madrasa. The court had sought a report from the DC Nankana Sahib.
According to documents, the Punjab government had previously sanctioned the sale of this state land to the seminary for the construction of madrasa at a nominal price of Rs 3,000 per marla, plus a 10% surcharge, on the condition that the full amount would be paid and the sale completed within six months. However, neither the payment was made nor the sale deed registered within the stipulated period.
During court proceedings, the DC reported that the land’s market value had surged to Rs2,500,000 per marla, with a current schedule price of Rs1,815,000 per marla, valuing the property at approximately Rs432.5 million. This situation raises serious concerns, as the property is being appropriated without following the mandatory procedure of open auction, as required by the precedents set by the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
Arshad revealed that he had proposed to the Punjab government to sell the land of his seminary to him at nominal rates. He said his seminary, which provided education to around 500 students, both boys and girls, operated on charitable contributions. He had previously approached the court on the matter, disputing the high land rates (nine million) set by the DC. He said the official rates were inflated and urged the government to transfer the land to him at a more affordable price.
The implementation of Financial Action Task Force (FATF) laws in Pakistan has come under scrutiny, particularly regarding amendments made to the Punjab Waqf Ordinance 1979. To meet FATF requirements, the ordinance was amended to ensure strict regulation of Waqf properties, aimed at curbing the financing of terrorism.
Maulana Abdul Qadoos, spokesperson for the Wafaqul Madaris, highlighted a deadlock between the government and seminaries over the recent amendments to the Punjab Waqf Ordinance. He said the Wafaqul Madaris, which oversaw 23,000 seminaries, rejected the new registration requirements, arguing that they were drafted under pressure from the FATF. The law mandates district administration oversight of seminaries, a move Qadoos believes undermines their autonomy.
Acknowledging that all seminaries under the Wafaqul Madaris are already declared Waqf with Tehsil administrations, he stressed that they opposed the new amendments. “Our concern is that under these changes, seminaries could be shut down at the discretion of Waqf administrator,” he said and added that no seminary had been established through illegal land occupation.
Faisal Shahzad, DG RE Regional Office, was reluctant to share any information regarding the registration of seminaries. Abdul Malik Sheikh, who sees the seminaries attached to the Jamaat-e-Islami, declared the JI owned 1,500 seminaries which were registered with the HEC, Industries Department. He said: “We don’t accept the Punjab Waqf Properties (Amendment) Act 2020 and will not get our seminaries registered over there.”