MMA revival in mid-December

LAHORE: Six top religious parties on Thursday announced the revival of the most successful political alliance of religious parties in the country’s history, the Muttahida Majlis Amal (MMA) which swept 2002 polls in KP and became the chief opposition party in the National Assembly but had remained defunct for almost 10 years.

“We have decided in principle to restore the MMA but its formal announcement will be made in the mid of December after a meeting at the residence of JUP Secretary General Shah Awais Noorani in Karachi,” said Jamaat-e-Islami chief Sirajul Haq and JUI-F chief Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman while briefing the media after a three-hour meeting of the heads of all component parties at Mansoora.

The MMA was established in  in 2002 just before general elections and proved to be the most politically successful alliance of Islamist parties of all schools of thought. 

The MMA emerged as the main opposition in the National Assembly to Gen Parvez Musharraf’s “Kings Party”, PML-Q, and became the ruling party in KP and an ally of the ruling alliance in Balochistan. However, the alliance became defunct as inactive shortly before the 2008 polls after differences developed among the top leadership over the mode of contesting elections. The parties in MMA represent all four (Barelvi, Deobandi, Ahle Hadith and Shia) schools of thought. 

Sirajul Haq expressed gratitude to Almighty Allah for having decided to revive the MMA and said it would be great news for the nation, said the MMA’s revival was inevitable to steer the country out of the impending dangers from all sides and to run state affairs according to the Constitution and hold elections on time. 

He also demanded the government keep its promise for restoring the old form of legislators’ oath of Khatm-e-Nabuwwat without any amendment in it, expressing sorrow that the government had so far not fulfilled this promise. He said the MMA would try to take all religious parties along for a brighter future. 

Maulana Fazlur Rehman said the MMA would contest next elections under its previous symbol (book) and manifesto.

He said the old steering committee of the alliance was also restored to make contacts with other religious parties and the decision to restore the MMA was taken by accepting the recommendations of the steering committee in toto. He said the committee made contacts with other religious parties to include them in the alliance. 

The meeting was convened by Senator Sirajul Haq while other participants included JUI-F chief Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman, JUP-Noorani president Pir Ijaz Hashmi, Markazi Jamiat Ahle Hadith president Senator Prof Sajid Mir, JUI-S leader Maulana Yusuf Shah and secretary general Maulana Abdur Rauf Farooqi, Islami Tehreek Pakistan secretary general Allama Arif Wahidi, JUI-F secretary general Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haidri, Hafiz Abdul Karim, Liaqat Baloch, Farid Dr Farid Paracha, Maulana Amjad Khan, Akram Durrani, Muhammad Asghar and others. Members of the steering committee (Liaqat Baloch, Ramzan Tauqeer, Shafiq Pasruri, Akram Durrani and Anas Noorani) will also prepare recommendation to expand the alliance.