...
The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka
The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an
independentbranch there since 1975. It close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores...
so far seems to be the only party taking full advantage of the extended law by holding public meetings in certain parts of the tribal belt.
Senior leaders of JI including its former chief Qazi Hussain Ahmad
... third president (1987--2009) of the Pak Jamaat-e-Islami. Qazi was also head of the Muttahidah Majlis-e-Amal until his ego became bigger than the organization. Qazi is what is known as a
fierypreacher, which means he has lots of volume, a good delivery, and not a lot of reverence for coherence. He was the patron of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, Rasool Sayyaf and Osama bin Laden during the war against the Soviets. He used to recommend drining camel's urine to maintain good health before his kidneys started to go...
have addressed largely attended rallies in Bajaur,
Mohmand... Named for the Mohmand clan of the Sarban Pahstuns, a truculent, quarrelsome lot. In Pakistain, the Mohmands infest their eponymous Agency, metastasizing as far as the plains of Beautiful Downtown Peshawar, Charsadda, and Mardan. Mohmands are also scattered throughout Pakistan in urban areas including Karachi, Lahore, and Quetta. In Afghanistan they are mainly found in Nangarhar and Kunar...
and Khyber agencies during the past three months.
The party`s sitting central deputy chief Sirajul Haq visited Sadda, lower Kurram Agency
...home of an intricately interconnected web of poverty, ignorance, and religious fanaticism, where the laws of cause and effect are assumed to be suspended, conveniently located adjacent to Tora Bora...
tehsil headquarters, on Sunday and addressed a big gathering there.
He is the first politician, who visited this sensitive part of Fata that remained cut off from the rest of the country for four years owing to violence.
President
Asif Ali President Ten PercentZardari
... sticky-fingered husband of the late Benazir Bhutto ...
, through a presidential order extended the order to Fata in August 2011. Civil society considers extension of the law to Fata a positive step to bring the area into the mainstream. Fata with over three million populous has total 12 National Assembly and eight Senate seats.
Unlike Jamaat Ulema-e-Islam
...Assembly of Islamic Clergy, or JUI, is a Pak Deobandi (Hanafi) political party. There are two main branches, one led by Maulana Fazlur Rahman, and one led by Maulana Samiul Haq. Fazl is active in Pak politix and Sami spends more time running his madrassah. Both branches sponsor branches of the Taliban, though with plausible deniability...
-Fazl, Pakistain People`s Party and Awami National Party, which have sufficient vote bank in this isolated and ignored region of the country, JI took the lead and started aggressive campaign since the order has been extended.
JI chief for Fata Sahibzada Haroon Rashid said that rallies had been planned in Wana, Miranshah
... headquarters of al-Qaeda in Pakistain and likely location of Ayman al-Zawahiri. The Haqqani network has established a
ministatein centered on the town with courts, tax offices and lots of madrassas...
and Orakzai Agency
... crawling with holy men, home to Darra Adam Khel, the world's largest illegal arms bazaar. 14 distinct tribes of beturbanned primitives inhabit Orakzai agency's 1500 or so square kilometers...
in April and May.
He said that Jamaat chief
Syed Munawar Hassan... The funny-looking Amir of the Pak Jamaat-e-Islami. He joined the National Students Federation (NSF), a lefty student body, and was elected its President in 1959. He came into contact with the Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba (IJT) Pakistan and studied the writings of Mawlana Syed Abul Ala Maududi,
The Great Apostasizer.As a result, he joined IJT in 1960 and soon he was elected as President of its University of Karachi Unit and member of the Central Executive Council. He was Assistant Secretary General of Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistain in 1992-93, and became Secretary General in 1993. After years of holding Qazi's camel he was named Amir when the old man stepped down in 2009...
and Qazi Hussain Ahmad would address a rally in Bajaur on April 1 and would also visit Khyber Agency on April 28.
"It was risky to organise public rallies in Fata at this critical time, but we did and our rallies were very successful," said Mr Rashid, a former parliamentarian from Bajaur Agency, aka Turban Central, adding that the party had already nominated 10 candidates from Fata for the next general elections.
After extension of the order, Fata Civil Secretariat in collaboration with political parties has designed code of conduct for every tribal agency for holding political rallies. The party will take permission from respective political administration before holding public meeting.
Mr Rashid said that political authorities were very cooperative and did not create any hurdle for them.
The JUI-F has strong vote bank in Fata especially in North Wazoo, South Waziristan and Mohmand agencies, but it has yet to start any significant activities.
However,
a good lie finds more believers than a bad truth...
JUI-F provincial secretary information Abdul Jalil Jan claimed that they had organised public meetings in Mohmand
... Named for the Mohmand clan of the Sarban Pahstuns, a truculent, quarrelsome lot. In Pakistain, the Mohmands infest their eponymous Agency, metastasizing as far as the plains of Beautiful Downtown Peshawar, Charsadda, and Mardan. Mohmands are also scattered throughout Pakistan in urban areas including Karachi, Lahore, and Quetta. In Afghanistan they are mainly found in Nangarhar and Kunar...
, Bajaur, North and South Wazoo agencies.
He said that
Maulana Fazlur RehmanDeobandi holy man, known as
Mullah Dieselduring the war against the Soviets, his sympathies for the Taliban have never been tempered by honesty ...
`s younger brother Maulana Ataur Rehman had recently addressed a meeting in North Waziristan and more activities were planned.
Analysts say that prevailing circumstances in Fata were in favour of religious parties as compared to secular parties and they (religious groups) are exploiting situation.
Professor Ijaz Khattak, chairman International Relations department, University of Peshawar, said that presently religious parties had advantages, but nationalists and other parties would balance out the difference.
"Religious parties have the benefit of using mosques and seminaries in Fata," he observed, saying that ANP and PPP had also started some activities there, but it would take time.
On the other hand, coalition partners in the centre and the province (PPP and ANP) have yet to undertake activities in Fata. Recently ANP organised tribal jirga in Peshawar, but the party has yet to intervene inside Fata. Like Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central...
, PPP is also in disarray in Fata.
Under the constitution Fata was governed by the federal government, but the area seemed not on the list of priorities of PPP, complained president PPP Fata president Malik Waris Khan Afridi, who stated that party workers were not happy with the leadership.
"President, prime minister and governor are from the party, despite that workers have got nothing and local MNAs are taking credit for the reforms introduced and developments activities in the area," he remarked.
He added that he had taken up grievances of the workers in the party`s core committee meetings. "We can organise much bigger rallies in every tribal agency, but have nothing to satisfy our workers," he said.