Seminaries will now be registered according to Societies Act following president’s assent
ISLAMABAD: The long-standing issue of registration of religious seminaries was resolved amicably when President Asif Ali Zardari signed the Companies Registration Act, 2024.
The bill, now officially a law after the President’s signature, provides a structured framework for the registration of religious seminaries under the Companies Act.
The National Assembly will soon issue a gazette notification to formalize the law.
The development aims to streamline the registration process for religious institutions and ensure compliance with updated regulations under the Companies Act.
The consensus on this matter marks a significant step towards the regulation of religious education in the country.
In addition, the President also issued an order regarding the 2024 Amendments to the Companies Registration Act.
Under the ordinance, which applies only to Islamabad’s jurisdiction, madrassas will have the option of registering with either the Ministry of Education or the Ministry of Industry.
The development follows the Federal Cabinet’s approval of amendments to the Companies Registration Act, 1860 on Friday after the government and JUI-F resolved their differences.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, with the former reportedly “accepting all the demands of the Ittehad Tanzeemat-e-Madaris Deenia (ITMD)” regarding the bill.
The controversial madrasa bill, which has already been passed by both houses of parliament, has become a bone of contention between the Fazl-led party and the government.
Its enactment was part of an agreement between the government and a religio-political party to support the 26th Amendment, Fazl said earlier.
The bill required President Zardari’s assent to become law after he returned the bill citing legal objections.
The said legislation, now a law, amends the existing procedure for registering madrasas with the Ministry of Education and states that the institutions should be affiliated to the Ministry of Industry.
Before that, the president reportedly raised eight objections to the then bill on the registration of seminaries.
President Zardari, sources said, has expressed concern that if the Madrasa Act becomes law, the seminaries will be registered under the Companies Act, which may lead to the imposition of Financial Action Task Force (FATF), Generalized Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) and other sanctions towards the country. He highlighted the potential conflict of interest arising from the registration process and expressed concern about possible negative consequences for Pakistan’s international standing and internal stability.
According to the objections, the registration of religious seminaries under the law would lead to the spread of sectarianism and the establishment of many seminaries in the same society would lead to deterioration of the law and order situation. The President objected that there was a contradiction in the definition of madrasa in various provisions of the bill.
He argued that by registering madrasas as companies, they could be used for purposes other than education; there was a discrepancy in the definition of madrasas in various clauses of the bill.
The registration of madrasas in society would lead to a conflict of interest and such a conflict of interest would also lead to international criticism, while the approval of the bill could lead to a change of opinion and assessment of the FATF and other international organizations. Pakistan, the president said in an objection.
