The Hindu : Pak. Minister quits

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Aug 07, 2002

International

International

Pak. Minister quits

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD AUG. 6. Differences in the Government over the controversial draft ordinance to regulate the functioning of the religious schools came to the fore today with the decision of the Pakistan President, Pervez Musharraf, to accept the resignation of the Religious Affairs Minister, Mahmood Ahmed Ghazi.

An official announcement said that the Federal Minister for Labour, Manpower and Overseas Pakistanis, Owais Ahmed Ghani, had given been charge of the portfolios held by Dr. Ghazi.

There was speculation in the media that Dr. Ghazi was not happy with the draft ordinance for regulation of the functioning of the 10,000-odd religious schools in the country. In fact, in an interview to a daily he had justified the blasphemy laws. Reforms in religious seminaries known as "deen madaris" was one of the key components of the strategy announced by Gen. Musharraf in his January 12 address to the nation to tackle the menace of religious fundamentalism and sectarianism.

Though Gen. Musharraf promised to announce a legislative framework to regulate the functioning of the "deen madaris" in the second week of January, until the third week the draft was not made public. The ordinance sought to make it obligatory for the religious schools to register themselves with a board. The schools were also required to disclose the sources of their funding. The objective of the proposed law was to crack down on the religious schools that have acquired the reputation of being "jehad factories".

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