Hafiz Tahir Ashrafi, the chief of the Pakistan Ulema Council, has made a statement that the government has not intervened in seminaries since the institution of the new registration system in 2019. He stated that 18,600 seminaries are now registered with the Ministry of Education. “We are the custodians of Madaris and we will not allow interference,” he said while negating the claims of government interference.
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Responding to the criticism of JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Ashrafi said, “If Fazl wants registration in the ministry of industries, that is up to him and the government.” The controversy over the Madrassa Registration Bill grew following the President’s refusal to sign the legislation. According to Fazlur Rehman, the government is creating some differences among clerics through selective consultations; this is a conspiracy.
Rehman reiterated that the JUI-F’s position is not personal but is meant to safeguard the rights of all madrasahs and scholars and echoes the warning to the government that it should not politicize this issue.