The government chooses to discuss the seminary bill with JUI-F.

Shehbaz Sharif, the prime minister, and Nawaz Sharif, the president of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), met and made the decision.

In order to discuss the Societies Registration (Amendment) Bill, 2024, the Sharif brothers convened at Jati Umra. According to Pakistani reports, Nawaz Sharif also counseled PM Shehbaz to adopt a reconciliation strategy.

The JUI-F will be given a draft of the proposed revisions for review after certain adjustments have been made to the law, according to government sources.

The administration has communicated with the JUI-F and has apprised Maulana Fazlur Rehman of its endeavors to attend to his concerns.

According to JUI-F sources, internal party consultations will precede a final decision on the bill’s changes.

It’s important to note that one of the requirements set by the JUI-F in order to support the 26th Constitutional Amendment was the passing of the Societies Registration (Amendment) Bill, 2024.

The law had been approved by parliament and delivered to President Asif Ali Zardari for his signature; however, he returned it to the National Assembly, expressing reservations.

“Deeni Madaris are essential to ensuring that all Muslims receive religious instruction. In order to appropriately monitor their actions, these Deeni Madaris must simultaneously register under an enactment. However, in the lack of appropriate regulations, certain significant problems with Deeni Madaris’ registration have been seen. As a result, it is practical to allow for the Deeni Madaris to be registered under the purview of an enactment,” the bill’s statement of goals and reasons stated.

Under the plan, seminaries with many campuses would just have to register once. An annual report detailing the educational activities of each institution must be submitted to the registrar. Every madrasah also needs to undertake an audit of its financial records and submit the findings to the registrar. The law also prohibits seminaries from disseminating or teaching anything that encourages militancy, sectarianism, or religious intolerance.

Due to criticism of the bill, Maulana Fazlur Rehman had already alluded to starting an anti-government campaign.

The leader of JUI-F contended that “pressuring” seminaries might push students in the direction of radicalism. Additionally, Maulana Fazlur Rehman threatened to retaliate with anti-government slogans if the government persisted in applying “pressure.”

Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haidri, leader of the JUI-F, had threatened to march to Islamabad unless the government passed the law by December 8.

We would have to march in the direction of Islamabad if the bill is not passed by December 8. The nation cannot afford this delay, even though we are religious people and do not want to take such a move,” Haidri stated.

The leader of JUI-F also referred to the delay in approving the law as “malicious intent,” accusing it of being a purposeful attempt to impede the process.