Fazl warns govt of street protests over madrasa bill

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Law and Justice, Senator Azam Nazir Tarar, has invited Maulana Fazlur Rehman to collaborate with the government to resolve the legal complexities surrounding the Societies Registration (Amendment) Bill, 2024. This development comes after the minister acknowledged genuine legal hurdles have emerged.

Responding to the speech of Maulana Fazlur on the floor of the National Assembly, the minister said that a genuine complexity emerged after the President’s message was received on October 28 when he returned the bill to the Speaker. “Let us sit together and go through the letter of the President containing objections and in any case it will be resolved in line with the Constitution,” he assured.

The contents of the speech of the Law Minister in the National Assembly on Tuesday gave the impression that the government wanted to take the matter to the joint sitting of the Parliament. The law minister said the prime minister had given categorical instructions that senior party leaders should sit with Maulana Fazlur Rehman to find a solution. In this connection, he said Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, PM’s adviser Rana Sanaullah met Maulana. He said that any other senior leader from the government’s allied parties like Syed Naveed Qamar could also be engaged.

Tarar said the prime minister has the same stance that as per commitment, the bill was passed with consensus but he said that the President was also a respectable person. Senator Azam Nazir Tarar said that the bill under question was passed with ‘consensus’, not with a majority. “ We own the bill whether its provisions were correct or wrong, but legal aspects need to be seen”, he said. “The bill was passed by the National Assembly and the Senate after the decision was reached with Maulana Fazlur Rehman”, he said. He said that it was the unfinished agenda of the previous government.

The law minister said that according to Article 50 of the Constitution, the president is an integral part of the Parliament along with the National Assembly and the Senate and no bill can become law unless signed by the president. He said after both houses pass a bill, it is sent by the prime minister to the president with his advice and it is at this juncture where Article 75 is applied. He also agreed that as per Article 75, the president has to give assent to the bill within 10 days otherwise he would return the bill to Majlis-e-Shoora’s Speaker and the Senate Chairman with a request to reconsider the provisions he desires. Tarar recalled that when the President returned the bill on October 28 for the first time and it reached the Speaker’s Office then it should have been reconsidered by Parliament’s joint sitting. He also agreed that the bill after being returned by the President is reconsidered and passed by a joint sitting of the Parliament it is once again sent to the President. At this stage, he said the President would sign the bill within 10 days otherwise it would become an Act of the Parliament. On that Maulana Fazlur Rehman said that the Law Minister’s admission that after receiving the President’s message on October 28, the bill should have been referred to the joint sitting of the Parliament, was further confusing the matter. He maintained that the bill was now time-barred and if it was not sent to the joint sitting within 10 days it would take the shape of an Act of the Parliament. “ If the government still wants to talk about it, we are ready for it”, he said.

Earlier, Fazlur Rehman said that it would be a violation of the Constitution if a joint sitting of the Parliament is summoned to reconsider the Societies Registration (Amendment) Bill, 2024. He said that a bill becomes an Act of the Parliament and as such a law if it is not signed by the President within 10 days. He said that the Societies Registration (Amendment) Bill, 2024 was first sent to the President on October 28 when he raised objections to it. After removing some typing errors, it was again despatched to the President which was also returned by him on November 13. The JUI-F chief questioned why the gazette notification of the bill was not being issued after it had become law and an Act of Parliament. “We have complained to the President’s House that it is a violation of the Constitution”, he said. He observed that now it was being said that the IMF and FATF would stop supporting Pakistan if the bill became a law and questioned whether the Pakistani nation was free.

Expressing surprise over the government’s logic, Fazl said if a resolution in support of Imran Khan is tabled in the US Congress then it is considered as interference in Pakistan’s internal affairs. “ What will you say about the interference of the United States and international institutions in Pakistan’s parliamentary affairs”, he questioned. Maulana Fazlur Rehman said that not accepting the syllabi of the Deeni Madaris also reflects the mindset of the bureaucracy and the establishment. “They are also getting external support for their mental approach”, he said. He made it clear to the government that the Deeni Madaris would continue to function and receive funds even if they were not registered.

He pointed out at the first instance, it was the view of his party only but now the Inttehad Tanzeematul Madaris Pakistan also supported the same stance. Fazlur Rehman said that they would not accept any proposed amendment in the Societies Registration (Amendment) Bill, 2024. However, at the same time, he said that they could consider any other proposal. He warned the government not to complicate the situation otherwise the issue would reach from the Parliament to roads. He said that all the parties including PML-N, PPP, MQM and others gave a commitment and voted for passage of the Societies Registration (Amendment) Bill, 2024. “ Now if it is being said it was a mistake. This is an insult of the Parliament”, he said.

Fazlur Rehman said that legislation on the madaris bill came after the government expressed satisfaction with it. Whereas the matter of registration of madaris in the Ministry of Education was part of an agreement, not an act, he added. As per the agreement, he said the government would cooperate in the registration of new madaris. There was an agreement that registration of those madaris that were registered will be maintained. “The agreement mentions opening bank accounts of madaris and 3-year visas to be issued for foreign students of madaris,” he said. However, he regretted nothing like that ever happened. Hence, he said, that agreement was broken by the government.

Meanwhile, a delegation of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) called on Maulana Fazlur Rehman and discussed matters related to legislation on the registration of Deeni Madaris The delegation comprised Sindh Governor Kamran Tesori, Farooq Sattar and Syed Aminul Haq. Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri was also present on the occasion.

A meeting of the Wafaqul Madaris which was held with Mufti Taqi Usmani in Islamabad on Wednesday also backed Ittehad Tanzeematul Madaris on the issue. It asked the government to immediately issue a gazette notification of the Societies Registration (Amendment) Act, 2024. The central working committee of Wafaqul Madaris also decided to start a mass contact campaign and raise the issue during Friday sermons to create awareness over it. It was maintained that all boards and organizations of Deeni Madaris were on the same page regarding the sensitive matter. Maulana Anwarul Haq, Maulana Hanif Jalandhari, Maulana Saeed Yousaf, Maulana Ubaidullah Khalid, Maulana Imdadullah and others attended the meeting.