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| India-Pakistan |
| Trouble in Islamic paradise? |
| 2002-11-02 |
| Three weeks after its breathtaking gains in Oct 10 polls, cracks have emerged in Pakistan's Islamic party alliance, with the two main parties bickering over key government posts. The six-party Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) landed the balance of power in the national assembly, sparking concerns among liberals they would use their new influence to enforce Islamic law and throw US troops and intelligence agents out of the country. But veteran observers have said the fragility of the alliance, which unites traditional rivals, could see it break up before becoming a powerful political force. 'This MMA alliance is like a marriage of convenience between two people who hate each other,' said writer and analyst Mohammad Afzal Niazi. 'It is only a matter of time before it ultimately breaks up.' Hmmm... This sounds interesting. It couldn't be that their egos were arguing over who gets to... Simmering tensions between the fundamentalist Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI) and the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) erupted on Wednesday when JI chief Qazi Hussain Ahmed was nominated to lead the MMA in the national assembly. JUI executives, whose leader, Mr Maulana Fazlur Rehman, was nominated as prime minister, stormed out of the MMA meeting in fury, claiming the JI reneged on an agreement to keep the post free should Mr Rehman lose his bid for the premiership. 'This decision makes a mockery of the alliance,' a JUI leader said. "If we can't be in charge, we ain't playing!" He said the JI had agreed it would get the parliamentary leadership only if Mr Rehman secured the post of prime minister - which pundits say is unlikely. If Mr Rehman misses out on the prime ministership, he and his JUI - which won most of the MMA's seats - will have no post in the national assembly. Meaning that Qazi grabbed off the goodies for himself, leaving them as spear carriers... JUI and JI have a history of enmity but sidelined their differences to forge an alliance with four other religious parties to contest Oct 10 polls. The 'marriage of convenience', as analysts term the Islamic coalition, paid off. Islamic parties in the last national polls in 1997 won only four federal seats; on Oct 10, as an alliance, they won 45. "United we stand, divided we're putzes. But why should everybody pull so Qazi can grab the power for himself?" |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |