Reviving MMA

A meeting of the components of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) was hosted by JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Thursday. Of late, Fazlur Rehman has been advocating the revival of a religious alliance, which is presently dysfunctional. Speaking at the residence of Dr Aafia Siddiqui's mother on April 28, he had called upon the MMA components to recreate the alliance, while learning from their 'past mistakes'.
According to Fazlur Rehman, the meeting was supposed to be the first step towards the goal of bringing the religious leadership on a single platform. According to the JUI-F Secretary General Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, a step-by-step approach would bring the parties to a single platform.
The MMA was a six-party alliance, comprising of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), JUP-N, JUI-F, JUI-S, Jamiat-e-Ahl-e-Hadith (JAH Sajid Mir group) and Allama Sajid Naqvi's outlawed Shia group the Tehrik-e-Jafria Pakistan, which in its present incarnation is known as the Pakistan Islami Tehrik. The JUP chief Maulana Shah Ahmed Noorani initially headed the alliance. The MMA leaders were strongly opposed to the US-led military action in Afghanistan that ousted the Taliban from power.
The group criticised Musharraf for acting as a tool for US foreign policy. However, while Musharraf debarred the PPP and the PML-N from undertaking a mass-contact campaign before the 2002 elections, the MMA components were given a free hand to hold meetings and rallies. The alliance campaigned on promises to enforce the Sharia law and close down US military bases in Pakistan.
Partly on account of the anti-US sentiment prevailing in the country and partly due to the indirect support provided by Musharraf, the religious alliance was able to win majority seats in the then province, NWFP, where it formed its government while it was a coalition partner with the Musharraf-sponsored Q-League in Balochistan. Subsequently, it supported the 17th amendment introduced by Musharraf.
In view of a widespread perception that the alliance enjoyed the backing of those who matter, it was nicknamed by its opponents as the Military-Mullah Alliance. The JUI-S broke off with the alliance in August 2002 after differences with other members. The unity of the alliance suffered another setback with the departure of Sajid Mir, head of the Jamiat Ahl-e-Hadith who was close to Nawaz Sharif.
As the 2008 elections drew near, the MMA practically ceased to exist with every component going its own way. The JI boycotted the elections, while the JUI-F took part in the exercise and subsequently joined the ruling alliance. The ongoing attempts to resurrect the MMA are likely to raise many questions. How come the JUI-F, a part of the ruling coalition, is seeking an alliance with the Jamaat-e-Islami, which is itching to start a movement against the government?
Of late, the party has begun to criticise the government on issues like the release of Dr Aafia Siddiqui and loadshedding. Does it think the ship is about to sink and it is time to try to jump out of it? Is it looking for allies in the forthcoming local bodies elections?
Or does the army think it would be useful to have the support of religious parties in its campaign against militancy? There is a perception that a meeting of the Deobandi ulema was held recently, expressly for this purpose though it met with little success as it failed to issue an edict against militant extremism. Three of the MMA parties belong to the Deobandi School, while the JUP, Tehrik-e-Jafria hold different views. It is yet to be clear if the JAH, being a Salafi outfit, would be swayed by the Saudi ulema, who currently oppose militancy or would follow the Deobandi clerics.
Some might think that it would be possible to get support from a reunited MMA. Do the real powerbrokers in the country consider it necessary to seek the support of a reunited alliance of religious parties to bring the militants under control? The question becomes all the more relevant in view of the ongoing US overtures to a section of the Afghan Taliban. Is a similar attempt afoot to try this through a resurrected MMA? The reports of the increase in targeted killings in Swat are disturbing. There are many who think a better way to deal with the Swat situation would be for the army to hand over the task of reconstruction to the civilian government and concentrate fully on the militants.