Pakistan Ulema Council Chairman Hafiz Tahir Ashrafi has voiced concerns over the politicization of religious seminaries, stating that the platforms dedicated to madrassas should not be exploited for political purposes.
Addressing a session on seminary reforms and registration, Ashrafi emphasized preserving the current system, urging the government to resist external pressures to abolish or modify it.
He remarked, “Separate platforms exist for politics; we will not allow playing with the future of hundreds of thousands of students of seminaries.”
The comments come amid demands by Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s JUI-F for revisions in the seminary registration process.
Ashrafi criticized these calls, highlighting a 2019 agreement that settled the registration issue, warning against repetitive demands for new laws.
“You had accepted the agreement in 2019 and now demanding a new law, you will demand another law after four years,” Tahir Ashrafi said.
Director General of Religious Education Dr. Ghulam Qamar reiterated that, “It was decided in the agreement that all religious schools will be affiliated with the education ministry and seasoned religious scholars had signed the agreement”.
The session was also attended by Federal Ministers Chaudhry Salik and Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, who discussed the significance of preserving the integrity of religious education while fostering reforms.
Source: ARY News