Opposition stages walkout in Balochistan Assembly over seminary raids

QUETTA: Opposition lawmakers in the Balochistan Assembly, including members of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), walked out of the House on Tuesday in protest over raids on religious seminaries in different parts of the province and said their campaign against the government’s actions would continue.

The issue was raised shortly after the sitting resumed following a 19-minute break, with Speaker Capt (Retd) Abdul Khaliq Achakzai in the chair. On a point of order, Opposition Leader Mir Younus Aziz Zehri said law enforcement agencies had carried out raids on several seminaries and that some mosques had also been sealed in Quetta and other areas of Balochistan under the pretext of seminary registration.

Zehri said the opposition was not opposed to the registration of seminaries, but objected to the manner in which the administration was proceeding. He told the House that there were around 2,600 seminaries in Balochistan, of which 2,200 had already been registered, while efforts were under way to register the remaining 400 under the Societies Act.

He said the opposition would not allow harm to seminaries and would launch a street protest if required. Zehri also said legislation under the 26th Constitutional Amendment had already been passed in the National Assembly and maintained that any further action should be taken through proper provincial legislation.

During the proceedings, the speaker summoned the additional chief secretary (home) to the assembly over the seminary registration matter.

Provincial Home Minister Ziaullah Langove described seminaries as fortresses of Islam, and said some arrests had been linked to seminaries, leading the government to make registration mandatory. He said the government stood with religious seminaries and that misunderstandings would be addressed through dialogue with the chief minister.

Public Accounts Committee Chairman Asghar Ali Tareen said the opposition wanted seminaries to be registered under the Societies Act, whereas the government wanted registration under the Charities Act. He also announced a province-wide protest and said that on May 10, demonstrators would come to Quetta carrying copies of the Holy Quran and prayer mats to hold a sit-in.

Provincial Minister Ali Madad Jattak said a government delegation, along with the chief minister, would visit the residence of Maulana Abdul Wasey to discuss the issue. PPP parliamentary leader and Provincial Minister Sadiq Umrani said the government respected seminaries and religious scholars and would try to settle the matter through talks.

Jamaat-i-Islami MPA Maulana Hidayatur Rehman also tried to speak on the issue, but continued addressing the House without permission, prompting the speaker to warn him for disrupting proceedings. Later, he said that if seminaries were shut down, they would take to the streets and continue religious education there.

JUI-F member Ghulam Dastagir Badini told the assembly that seminaries and mosques in his constituency had been sealed without prior notice. Another JUI-F lawmaker, Syed Zafar Agha, warned that if action against seminaries continued, they would bring down the government.

Opposition members then staged a walkout against the sealing of seminaries and mosques. They later returned to the House after government members persuaded them to resume proceedings.

Protest plan announced

The opposition said it would continue protesting the government’s handling of the seminary registration issue. As part of that plan, a province-wide protest has been announced, along with a sit-in in Quetta on May 10.