THE madressah controversy, a long-standing issue in the country, is a reflection of the historical tension between state institutions and the madressah leadership. When religious institutions become a topic of public discussion, the madressah leadership often takes a more conciliatory approach towards the state.

In response to a statement last month by DG ISPR Lt-Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, who claimed that more than half the madressahs in Pakistan were unregistered and with unknown sources of funding, leaders from all the Sunni and Shia schools of thought have called for a meaningful dialogue with the state to address any misunderstandings.

This offer of dialogue indicates the strategic thinking of the madressah leadership, which understands that there is no immediate threat of intervention from the state. In contrast, state institutions have limited knowledge about the dynamics of madressahs in the country. Over the past 30 years, madressahs — that are flourishing in the country — and state institutions have engaged in direct dialogue, which has not altered the madressah system: the state has not been able to successfully regulate or reform the madressah curriculum and operations. Instead, the state has often agreed to reforms, registration, and audits on the madressahs’ own terms.

The madressah leaders’ long-standing demand had been to assign the task of registering the seminaries to the education department. In 2019, the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training initiated a dialogue with the Ittehad-i-Tanzeemat-i-Madaris — an umbrella body of all five organisations in........

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