Following a meeting with Religious Affairs Minister Ejaz-ul-Haq on Monday, Ittehad Tanzeemat-e-Madaris-e-Deenia (ITMD) - the alliance of five wifaqs supervising thousands of seminaries all over the country - agreed to talk to President Pervez Musharraf on issues of registration of religious seminaries, expulsion of foreign students, production of accounts and details of students and teaching staff soon after his return from the US. âSince the government has accepted our demands regarding registration of religious seminaries under Societies Act 1860, granting the status of education boards to all Wifaq-ul-Madaris and acceptance of academic certificates and degrees of these wifaqs, we have accepted the governmentâs offer of a meeting with President Pervez Musharraf after his return from US,â Qari Hanif Jhulandari told newsmen on Monday.Jalandhari said he had asked the religious affairs minister to organise a formal talk with Musharraf to resolve differences and reservations. âNo religious institution is involved in any subversive or terrorist activity or sectarian violence, and we are not playing in the hands of MMA (Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal),â said Jhulandari. âHowever, consultations with the leader of opposition (Maulana Fazlur Rehman) are necessary before taking any step.â He said some people were trying to create conflict between the government and religious forces, but they had foiled their conspiracy.
âIt is a major breakthrough,â Ejaz-ul-Haq said of the successful negotiations with Wifaq-ul-Madaris. âThe registration of religious seminaries is mandatory and we will not let politicians jeopardise the career of 1.5 million students for their political ends.â He said Wifaq-ul-Madaris Arabia (Deobandi) had agreed to follow the governmentâs programme, while the ITMD had already agreed to register. âI appealed to them to help the government get through the process amicably,â he said. The issue of seminaries, he said, had a humanitarian aspect as well, as around 1.5 million orphans and poor students were living there as interns. He said almost all organisations running religious schools in the country, including the Wifaq-ul-Madaris, had agreed to cooperate with the government.