Given the murky political history of this country, any new development evokes suspicion, with or without a genuine basis. So it has been with last week's decision by six religious parties, including the Jamaat-e-Islami, JUI-F and its other faction, JUI-S, to revive their electoral alliance Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) formed in 2002 that in the elections the same year landed a hugely surprise victory, forming governments in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (then NWFP) and Balochistan. Voicing his party's reservations and those of a section of opinion leaders, PPP General Secretary Farhatullah Babar averred "revival of the MMA and the Defence of Pakistan Council (DPC) participating in the general elections will lend strength to the project 'Mainstreaming Taliban'." Although he wouldn't name any names as to who could be behind the purported project, he left little doubt about who he meant when he said in 2002 elections the MMA's success gave the then military ruler General Musharraf a tool to frighten the West that the choice in Pakistan was between him and the rising tide of religious parties.

The argument made ample sense at that point in time. But a lot has changed since. Pakistan is engaged in a seminal fight with religious extremists of different hues not to prove anything to the West but for the sake of its own peace and security. There seems to be a difference of opinion, though, on that whether to mainstream the militants of DPC variety by having them participate in the political process or to deal with them in some other way, but there are no two opinions on, that all radical extremists ought to be defeated. As for the revival of the MMA, the two mainstream religious parties, the JI and JUI-F, in particular the former, are the driving force behind this grouping. Their interest in it is not difficult to understand considering that in all general elections the people have always tended to vote for the mainstream parties, consigning the religious parties to the periphery. In the last election the JUI-F won 11 and the JI only 3 National Assembly seats.

The coming together of these natural allies under the banner of MMA may help them to improve on that performance by preventing splitting of the religious vote, but it is unlikely to have any significant impact on the overall results. For sure, it would be nowhere near the 2002 outcome. Only a couple of years ago, in an Upper Dir by-election, the PPP snatched a provincial assembly seat from JI. Given their situation, it is hardly surprising if the religious parties are worried about their electoral prospects. The others need not get anxious about the restoration of religious parties alliance.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2017