ISLAMABAD: The Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) on Wednesday rejected the government’s proposal to include teachings of Quran in schools syllabus.

The Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training had sent a set of books which contain Quran verses with translation to the CII for vetting. The ministry had proposed to teach these books in schools up to class tenth.

The members found too many lacunas in the books and said they could not be incorporated in the schools syllabus.

The members raised objections over the draft child protection bill on the second day of the three-day CII meeting.

The Council also discussed the Hague convention on Parental Responsibility and Protection of Children, sent by the Law Ministry and the CII ruled that Pakistan should not sign it.

The CII meeting was chaired by its chairman Maulana Mohammad Khan Sheerani, who said that certain clauses of the Hague Convention were contradictory to the Constitution of Pakistan.

The Council discussed 21 clauses out of 68 of the Hague Convention and it was noted that the clause 20 of the Convention that deals with the custody of the child was a violation of international human rights.

The CII is expected to complete its vetting of the international convention on Thursday, while another key agenda of the council meeting was approval of women protection law formulated by the CII.

Published in Dawn, August 4th, 2016