JI quits MMA

According to media reports, Jamaat-e-Isami (JI) has formally parted ways with Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal, an alliance of five religious parties. Acting emir of the JI Liaquat Baloch during the meeting of the religious parties’ alliance is said to have formally informed the MMA leadership that JI would contest next elections from its own platform under the JI banner and election symbol. The religious parties’ alliance consists of Jamiat Ulma-e-Islam (Fazl), Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan, Jamiat Ahl-e-Hadith, Tehrik-e-Jafaria and Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan (JUP).

These religious parties like other parties clearly uphold the ideas and actions that are required for the democratic functioning of the state. In the case of Pakistan in particular, these parties often act as a safety valve to relieve excessive pressures. Their role in country’s politics must not be denigrated. Democratization in Pakistan itself, is positively influenced by a variety of factors, including religious parties’ meaningful approach to politics.

Karachi Naqi Zafar