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Thursday March 28, 2024

No new seminary registered in Lahore in 18 months

By Sher Ali Khalti
December 31, 2017

LAHORE : No new seminary (deeni Madrissa) has been established in the Lahore district over the last one and a half years, and the last seminary was registered in July 2016 in the district.

Jamiat Gulzar Safia Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat Barelvi, Burki Road, was the last seminary registered on July 27, 2016 in the provincial metropolis under the Registration of Societies Act 1860, and after that no seminary of any school of thought has so far been registered in the district. However, during this period, eight mosques, 13 churches and 314 societies were registered with the government of Punjab under Registration of Societies Act 1860, according to the documents available with The News. Registrar Joint Stock Companies (RJSC) District Officer Muhammad Azhar Hussain said that he had received 15 applications of seminaries from the metropolitan city regarding registration. Not a single seminary was registered in 2017, he said. He said he had sent these applications to the Home Department for intelligence reports.

While no new Madrissa/seminary was registered during the period in question, there have been a number of new mosques that function partly as Madaris/seminaries in the provincial metropolis. They have neither identified themselves as a Madaris/seminaries nor have filed applications for registration as they continue to function as Madaris/seminaries while being registered as a mosque. An official from the Home Department said that, actually, the government of Punjab wanted to discourage the establishment of seminaries and no seminary could operate without having registration under the Registration of Societies Act 1860. All Deeni Madaris will not operate without getting themselves registered under the act, he added. According to the act, Deeni Madaris, which are established after the enactment of the act, shall get themselves registered within one year of their establishment. According to the act, Deeni Madaris shall not teach or publish any literature which promotes militancy or spreads sectarianism or religious hatred. To have an eye on seminaries, Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) has completed the geotagging. According to the documents, 16,481 seminaries, including 8861 of Barelvi, 4,800 of Deobandi, 2,607 of Ahl-e-Hadith school of thought and 213 Imambargahs, are registered across the province. As many as 1,486 seminaries, including 936 of Barelvi, 371 of Deobandi and 146 seminaries of Ahle Hadith school of thought and 32 Imambargahs, have been registered in Lahore. In Sheikhupura, 282 seminars, including 120 of Barelvi, 90 of Deobandi, 66 of Ahl-e-Hadith school of thought and 31 Imambargahs, have been registered. In Kasur, 504 seminaries, including 272 of Barelvi, 135 of Deobandi and 97 of Ahle Hadith school of thought, are registered. No Imambrgah has been registered in Kasur so far. In Okara, 386 seminaries, including 125 of Barelvi, 159 of Deobandi, 93 of Ahle-eHadith school of thought and nine Imamabargahs, are registered. In Gujranwala, 633 seminaries, including 324 of Barelvi, 183 of Deobandi, 119 of Ahle Hadith school of thought and seven Imambarghs, are registered. In Sialkot, 498 seminaries, including 339 of Barelvi, 90 of Deobandi, 61 of Ahle Hadith school of thought and eight Imambargh, are registered. In Hafizabad, 149 seminaries, including 75 of Barelvi, 35 of Deobandi, 37 of Ahle Hadtith school of thought and two Imambargahs, are registered. In Norwal, 237 seminaries, including 112 of Barelvi, 67 of Deobandi, 54 of Ahle Hadith school of thought and four Imambargahs, are registered. In Sargodha, 495 seminaries, including 203 of Barelvi, 197 of Deobandi, 88 of Ahle Hadith school of thought and seven Imambargahs, are registered. In Gujrat, 291 seminaries, including 145 of Barevli, 95 of Deobandi and 51 of Ahle Hadith school of thought are registered. In Faislabad, 729 seminaries, including 399 of Barelvi, 218 of Deobandi, 106 of Ahle Hadith school of thought and six Imambargahs, are registered. In Nankana Sahib, 117 seminaries, including 62 of Barelvi, 32 of Deobandi, 16 of Ahle Hadith school of thought and seven Imambragahs, are registered. In Jhang, 445 seminaries, including 237 of Barelvi, 123 of Deobandi, 72 of Ahle Hadith school of thought and 13 Imambargahs, are registered. In Toba Tek Singh, 543 seminaries, including 376 of Barelvi, 118 of Deobandi, 46 of Ahle Hadith school of thought and three Imambargah, are registered. In Rawalpindi, 433 seminaries, including 248 of Barelvi, 106 of Deobandi, 76 of Ahle Hadith school of thought and three Imambargahs, are registered. In Chiniot, 107 seminaries, inculding 48 of Barelvi, 32 of Deobandi, 26 of Ahle Hadith school of thought and one Imambargah, are registered. In Jhelum, 168 seminaries, including 138 of Barelvi , 27 of Deobandi and nine of Ahle Hadith school of thought, are registered. In Attock, 361 seminaries, including 183 of Barelvi, 113 of Deobandi, 61 of Ahle Hadith school of thought and four Imambargahs, are registered. In Chakwal, 172 seminaries, including 84 of Barelvi, 48 of Deobandi, 35 of Ahle Hadith school of thought and five Imambargahs, are registered. In Bahwalpur, 477 seminaries, including 242 of Barelvi, 167 of Deobandi, 65 of Ahle Hadith school of thought and three Imambargahs, are registered. In Mandi Bahauddin, 243 seminaries, including 113 of Barelvi, 86 of Deobandi and 44 of Ahle Hadith school of thought, are registered. In Rahimyar Khan, 829 seminaries, including 489 of Barelvi, 244 of Deobandi, 93 of Ahle Hadith school of thought and three Imambargahs, are registered. In Bahwal Nagar, 733 seminaries, including 418 of Barelvi, 190 of Deobandi, 123 of Ahle Hadith school of thought and two Imambargahs, are registered. In Khushab, 249 seminaries, including 107 of Barelvi, 83 of Deobandi, 55 of Ahl Hadith school of thought and four Imambargahs, are registered. In Mianwali, 178 seminaries, including 96 of Barelvil, 48 of Deobandi, 26 of Ahle Hadith and eight Imambargahs, are registered. In Bhakkar, 326 seminaries, including 176 of Barelvi, 83 of Deobandi, 60 of Ahle Hadith school of thought and seven Imambargahs, are registered. In Multan, 1,172 seminaries, including 592 of Barelvi, 397 of Deobandi, 180 of Ahle Hadith school of thought and three Imambargahs, are registered. In Rajanpur, 150 seminaries, including 66 of Barelvi, 49 of Deobandi, 25 of Ahle Hadith school of thought and 10 Imambargahs, are registered. In Sahiwal, 357 seminaries, including 160 of Barelvi, 131 of Deobandi, 54 of Ahle Hadith school of thought and 12 Imambargahs, are registered. In Khanewal, 701 seminaries, including 380 of Barelvi, 197 of Deobandi, 123 of Ahle Hadith school of thought and one Imambargah are registered. In Vehari, 489 seminaries, including 272 of Barelvi, 148 of Deobandi, 60 of Ahle Hadith school of thought and nine Imambargahs, are registered. In Lodhran, 324 seminaries, including 149 of Barelvi, 115 of Deobandi, 56 of Ahle Hadith school of thought and four Imambargahs, are registered.

In Pakpattan, 234 seminaries, including 107 of Barelvi, 86 of Deobandi and 41 of Ahle Hadith school of thought, are registered. In Dera Ghazi Khan, 759 seminaries, including 396 of Barelvi, 223 of Deobandi, 130 of Ahle Hadith school of thought and 10 Imambargahs, are registered. In Muzaffargarh, 950 seminaries, including 535 of Barelvi, 227 of Deobandi, 180 of Ahle Hadith school of thought and eight Imambargahs, are registered. In Layyah, 276 seminaries, including 143 of Barelvi, 87 of Deobandi, 33 of Ahle Hadith school of thought and 13 Imambargahs, are registered.