ISLAMABAD: The Senate today (Monday) has approved a bill, Compulsory Teaching of the Arabic Language Bill 2020, which makes the Arabic language compulsory in educational institutions across Islamabad.
According to the bill, presented by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Javed Abbasi, the language should be taught from grade 1-5, while Arabic grammar will be taught to grades 6 to 12.
The bill was approved near-unanimously by members of the Senate, with PPP Senator Raza Rabbani offering the sole dissenting note. The ministry concerned will implement the bill within a period of six months.
Speaking on the Senate floor, Javed Abbasi pointed out that Arabic was the fifth-largest language in the world, the official language of 25 countries. He emphasised that learning Arabic could open up more job opportunities for Pakistanis in the Middle East and lead to lower unemployment and increased remittances.
Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan concurred with Abbasi, saying that the government categorically supported” the bill. He pointed out that Article 31 of the Constitution states that “Measures should be taken to spend our lives according to the Holy Quran and Sunnah.”
Raza Rabbani, meanwhile offering his dissenting note, alleged that the legislation was the state’s attempt to use Islam for achieving a political agenda. “The state was trying to eliminate Pakistan’s multicultural and multi-lingual diversity by importing Arab culture,” he claimed.
