NewsFriday, November 23, 2007
Fate of madrassa degree holders in limbo as elections near* SC detailed verdicts on validity to contest polls pending
* HEC recognises madrassa degrees only for teaching
* 68 former MMA MPs hold madrassa degreesBy Irfan Ghauri
ISLAMABAD: A Sword of Damocles hangs over the heads of madrassa degree holders willing to contest the January 8 elections, as the Supreme Court (SC) has yet to announce verdicts reserved on the petitions challenging their eligibility to take part in the electoral process.
Most of such aspirants, who hold a Sanad Shahadatul Almiya Fil Uloomul Arbia Wal Islamia degree, are from the religio-political group of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA).
A three-member SC bench headed by deposed chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry had reserved the judgments on three such petitions in the last week of October.
Madrassa degrees validation: The Higher Education Commission (HEC) recognises madrassa degrees equivalent to MA (Arabic/Islamic Studies) for only teaching purpose and prohibits the use of such degrees for all other purposes unless their holders pass two subjects other than Arabic and Islamic Studies at the Bachelor’s of Arts (BA) level. The University Grants Commission (later named as HEC) had written a letter to former Election Commission deputy secretary (elections) RB Jan Wahidi on July 22, 2002, saying that the degrees granted by Wafaq/Tanzeemul Madaris and approved individual madrassas were equivalent to MA (Arabic/ Islamic Studies) for teaching purpose only.
The letter said the madrassa-degree holders would be required to qualify two additional subjects other than Arabic and Islamic Studies at BA level if they wanted to make use of their degrees for any purpose other than teaching.
The letter recognised the following 10 madrassas for issuing these degrees: Wafaqul Madaris Al-Arabia, Multan; Tanzeemul Madaris Alhe Sunnat, Jamia Nazmia Razvia, Lahore; Wafaqul Madaris Al Salfia, Faisalabad; Wafaqul Madaris Shia, Jamia Al Muntazar, Lahore; Rabitaul Madaris Al Islamia, Lahore; Jamia Islamia Minhajul Quran, Lahore; Jamia Taleme Islamia, Faisalabad; Jamia Ashrafia, Lahore; Darululoom Mohammadia Ghousia, Bhera (Sargodha) and Darululoom Korangi Creek, Karachi.
President General Pervez Musharraf, under Article 8A of the Conduct of General Elections Order, 2002, had made it mandatory for the national and provincial assemblies’ members to hold at least a bachelor’s or equivalent degree recognised by the UGC. The EC, in its notification on July 25, 2002, with the heading extraordinarily published by the authority, only used the first part of the letter and deliberately ignored the second and third ones to let madrassa degree holders contest the 2002 elections.
MMA MPs: Around 68 MPs mostly from the Maulana Fazlur Rehman-led Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) held madrassa degrees in the assemblies formed thereafter. Their eligibility to contest the elections was later challenged in the SC by Syed Iftikhar Gilani, Maulvi Iqbal Haider and Dr Aslam Khaki in separate petitions.
Sources told Daily Times that the government had used the issue for the arm-twisting of former opposition leader in the National Assembly Maulana Fazlur Rehman. The Maulana had been pressing the government for the withdrawal of the condition of a bachelor’s degree to contest the assemblies’ elections. Recently, he got an encouraging statement by Pakistan Muslim League Secretary General Mushahid Hussain Syed, favouring the abolishment of the condition.
The sources, however, said the powers to be were not in favour of withdrawing the condition because they wanted to use it for the arm- twisting of clerics. The sources added that the maulana had adopted a lenient attitude towards the government because he, like most of his party leaders, holds a madrassa degree. They have to pass compulsory subjects such as English to contest the elections.
Courtesy DailyTimes.com.pk