Supreme Court of Pakistan heard a petition seeking to make the teaching of the Holy Quran compulsory in educational institutions.
During the hearing, the federal, Punjab, and Balochistan governments submitted their responses, while the Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governments requested additional time to file their replies.
Justice Jamal Mandokhail noted that the federal government has already initiated steps to implement Quranic education. He questioned, "Why should the court intervene when the government is doing its job?"
However, the petitioner argued that if the authorities had been taking action, the matter wouldn’t have remained unresolved in courts for the past five years. He further emphasized that, under the law, only an agreed-upon translation of the Quran can be used and that federal approval is necessary for any such translation.
Advocate Aneeq Khatana pointed out that none of the provinces or the federation had attached an official notification with their responses.
Justice Jamal remarked that children first learn their mother tongue, then Urdu and English, and now there is a growing emphasis on Chinese. He questioned, "How many languages do we expect children to learn?"
The petitioner also highlighted that Article 31 of the Constitution clearly distinguishes between Quranic education and Islamic Studies as separate subjects.
The Supreme Court's five-member bench, headed by Justice Aminuddin, has postponed the hearing indefinitely while seeking responses from the Sindh and KP governments on the matter of mandatory Quran education.
