ISLAMABAD: Pilling up pressure on the government in connection with seminary registration bill, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman yesterday threatened the ruling coalition that nobody could block their way if they decide to launch a long march on Islamabad during a meeting of Tanzeem Ittehadul Madaris slated to be held on December 17.

His remarks came just hours before the deadline set by the religio-political party expires. The JUI-F set a December 8 deadline for the government to approve the seminary registration bill. Addressing a public rally in Peshawar, the JUI-F chief said that a meeting of Ittehadul Madaris a conglomerate of different organisations of Madaris representing the major schools of thoughts would be convened to devise a joint strategy on Madaris registration bill.

"A unanimous decision will be made at the Ittehadul Madaris meeting on December 17."  He said that the bill was passed by the Senate and National Assembly separately with the consent of the government's allies but the president returned the bill. Last week, President Asif Ali Zardari returned the bill, raising some objections, including that education is a provincial subject.

Speaking to participants, Fazl questioned: "Is not signing the bill malice and fraud or not? Are you ready or not, If we decide to march on Islamabad?"
As per the agreement signed with the government, Madaris would be affiliated but not fall under the education ministry, he added. "Attempts were made to keep Madaris under the Ministry of Education by forming a directorate."
A day earlier, the JUI-F chief said that they wanted to remain within their limits and did not want confrontation with the state.

Expressing his annoyance over differentiating between ancient and modern education, he said: "Knowledge is knowledge."    He said all the religious seminaries were kept "under pressure". So-called reforms were being imposed on madrassa in the name of bringing the seminaries into the mainstream. "You declared war on us, we did not."
Responding to a question, the JUI-F leader said that the government was pushing the seminaries towards extremism and radicalism. On the other hand, Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Chaudhry Salik Hussain said yesterday that registration of seminaries was a long-standing requirement. "It will take some time to give the Madrasa Registration Bill a legal shape," the minister said.

Accepting the Maulana's demand, the government got approved the bill from both houses of the parliament, he said. "Madrasa are also educational institutions that only fall under the education ministry."
The minister said: "18,000 Madrassas were registered with the Directorate General of Religious Education."
There was a one-window operation at the directorate general to ease the registration process.