MMA avoids split

The Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), an alliance of six Islamic parties that was swept to power in two of Pakistan's four provinces in the October 10 general elections, has managed to avoid a split following differences between two of its major components.

The wrangling between the JUI-F and Jamaat-e-Islami on the distribution of the MMA tickets for the by-elections and allocation of portfolios in the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) cabinet was again straining the unity of the religious alliance.

The MMA central council comprising heads of the component parties has apparently resolved the dispute over award of tickets for the by-elections, due on January 15, and the crisis is over for now.

But friction remains and the deep-seated mistrust between the JUI-F and the Jamaat-e-Islami, rooted in the past and exacerbated by doctrinal differences, could resurface again.

Rather than solving their differences in the provincial or central forum of the MMA, the Jamaat-e-Islami chose to publicly air its grievances against the JUI-F on Friday. Earlier, it went public to voice its unhappiness over the selection of JUI-F's Akram Durrani for the chief minister of the NWFP. One objection against Durrani was his being clean-shaven, though he subsequently grew a beard. In contrast, the JUI-F did not react when Durrani's candidature for the chief ministership was questioned. Instead it talked out the issue in MMA meetings.

The next issue that created ill-will was the allocation of portfolios to the 11 new ministers. Both sides wanted the choicest portfolios for their nominees in the provincial cabinet. Some of the portfolios like law and parliamentary affairs and agriculture are still a matter of contention between the two parties.

The by-elections on two National Assembly and two NWFP Assembly seats in the province has also aroused suspicion and created differences between the JUI-F and the Jamaat-e-Islami. The allotment of the MMA tickets for the by-elections became so contentious that it was referred to the central council. The delay could affect the MMA chances in winning the by-elections.

The dispute mainly concerns the NA-34 Lower Dir seat vacated by Qazi Hussain Ahmed and the PF-20 Charsadda constituency that fell vacant when PPP-S head Aftab Sherpao opted to keep his National Assembly seat.

The Jamaat-e-Islami rightly claims the NA-34 seat because its leader has won it in the October 10 elections and is located in its Lower Dir stronghold.

The JUI-F is also within its right to claim the PF-20 seat by virtue of its greater support in Charsadda. The JUI-F's Qazi Fazalullah filed his nomination papers from NA-34 against Jamaat-e-Isami's Ahmed Ghafoor Ghawas to make sure that the Jamaat-e-Islami man Maulana Abdul Mastan withdrew from the contest in PF-20 Charsadda in favour of JUI-F nominee Maulana Mohammed Idrees.

Though the MMA central council has now finalised the list of ticket-holders for the by-elections and awarded the NA-34 seat to the Jamaat-e-Islami and the PF-20 Charsadda seat to the JUI-F, the wrangling between the JUI-F and Jamaat-e-Islami has increased their degree of distrust and raised questions about the long-term unity of the alliance.

The threat by the Jamaat-e-Islami ministers to resign in case their demands were not accepted shows the seriousness of the situation. The emergence of such sharp differences within a month of the installation of the MMA government in the NWFP explains the complexity of the problems that could beset the religious coalition in future.