Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman (JUI)

Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman (Urdu: مولانا فضل الرحمان) is son of the Former Chief Minister of N.W.F.P Mufti Mahmud. He is Ameer (President) of a faction of a political party Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Assembly of 'Ulama-e-Islam). His faction is known as Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazal ur Rahman group or JUI-F. He is also the General Secretary of the Religious Alliance, Muttahidah Majlis-e-'Amal (Council of United Action) or MMA. He is originally from the Abdulkhel Banyala area in Dera Ismail Khan District of North-West Frontier Province, Pakistan. He was selected as Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly of Pakistan by the Speaker of the Assembly on May 25, 2004^[1]. He remained on such post till his resgination from assembly in 2007.

Life

Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman is son of well known religious and political leader Maulana Mufti Mahmood.

Fazal-ur-Rehman's started politics from District Tank southern City of NWFP. Mualana like his father's, has been at odds with the Muslim League. Fazal-ur-Rehman remained in the camp of the political alliances and parties that were opposed to Nawaz Sharif's League. He went to make an alliance with Pakistan People Party in 1993 elections. In the general elections of 2002, he managed to bring the religious political parties of Pakistan from a wide spectrum of sects, on one platform. The masses of the country embraced the idea, as the coalition paid off in the elections.

Fazal-ur-Rehman built his public image by engaging Zulfaqir Ali Bhutto's daughter Benazir Bhutto with the Taliban during her second term as the prime minister in the mid 90's. He earned his nickname, "Mulla Diesel" or "Maulana Diesel", after allegations of his involvement in a fuel sale scandal became public. The case was never proved and was never even filed in any court, not even by the Accountability Cell of the following Nawaz Sharif government. Even though the then Accountability Cell, headed by Saif-ur-Rahman did not spare any of the previous government allies. This and the fact the allegation as reported, refers to corruption in export of diesel (which Pakistan seldom does).

His coalition's negotiation with Gen. Musharraf that led to 17th amendment, (which granted indemnity to some of Musharraf's acts and set a time frame from Musharraf leaving the Army Chief post), is widely criticized. He excuses himself by saying that Gen. Musharraf did not fulfill the constitutional requirements as per 17th amendment. He led the opposition in the National Assembly, but is alleged to make it a friendly opposition.

In February 18, 2008 elections, Fazal-ur-Rehman lost his seat from his home town Dera Ismail Khan. He, however, won a seat from Bannu while his brother Maulana Atta ur Rehman won the National Assembly seat in Dera Ismail Khan kum Tank. His party JUI currently has 7 National Assembly seats, 14 seats in NWFP provincial assembly, and 10 and 2 in Baluchistan and Punjab Assembly.

Member of National Assembly of Pakistan

Mr Fazal have been elected to National Assembly on multiple occassion.

He was made Chairman of the Kashmir Committee in the Second government of Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

The speaker of the National assembly made Mr Fazal Leader of the Opposition between 2004-2007.

He is chair of Kashmir committee in the assembly elected 2009.

Controversies

Scandals During 1993-1996

Benazir Bhutto was the first female muslim woman head of a democratically elected government. During the second government of Benazir Bhutto during 1993-1996, Mr Fazl, who heads a fundamental Islamic party, along with other parties started raising of issue that it is not allowed for a woman to head a government. The government appointed Mr. Fazl chair of a committee in the National Assembly. After his appointment to the chair, Mr Fazl ceased raising the issue of woman as head of government, which raised a wildly held view that his change in attitude was directly result of his appointment to the chair. In addition he was awarded a huge amount of quota for Diesel fuel, due to which he earned the nick of "Maulana Diesel"

Presidential Election 2007 In Pakistan, the presidential electoral college consist of the 4 provincial assemblies, the national assembly and the senate. In 2007, a situation occurred where the term of the president as well as the assemblies were expiring at the same time. The president at the time was General Pervaiz Musharaf, who came to power as a result of military coup. In 2007, he was up for re-election in October 2007. The opposition parties took the position that an assembly whose own term is ending cannot elect a new president specially when the same assembly had earlier elected a president at its inception. They maintained that one assembly cannot cast votes to elect president twice. In order to break the electoral college, the opposition parties pressed for dissolution of the only opposition held provisional assembly of NWFP, which headed by MMA. constitution allowed for dissolution of provincial assembly on simple advice of Chief Minister, who is the head of the provincial government. In face of intense pressure of other parties of MMA and other opposition parties, Mr. Fazl was pressured to act on dissolution of assembly. He announced on September 27, 2007 that on October 02, 2007 the Chief Minister of his party would send the dissolution advice. Due to gap between the announcement and planned dissolution advice, an opportunity was provided to supporters of General Musharaf to file a motion of no confidence against Chief Minister. As the result of motion of no confidence, the CM was prevented from filing the advice. It was widely believed that Mr. Fazl, who is a seasoned politician pre-announced the date when the Chief Minister would advice for dissolution so that a no confidence movement could be filed and prevent the situation of incomplete electoral college.

Land Scandal According to a investigative report, eleven influential figures were allotted costly and fertile agriculture land during the former Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) government at nominal rates in southern districts of the NWFP in a “land scandal”. Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman has been involved in property scandal during the President General Musharaf era. Maulana and his associates were allotted thousands of kanal of agriculture land in 2006 (The News, Friday, November 07, 2008)

Lawyer Movement A Lawyers movement for restoration of judiciary had been going for almost 2 years since March 2007 across the country. In March 2009, the movement called for a long march. Mr Fazl called it a provincial movement and dubbed it a "Punjab movement" to give it a ethnic color^[5]. As the result of Mr Fazl past activities, and activities during long movement, many lawyers bars council have barred for life entrance of Mr. Fazl into bars

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam

Background

JUI is a Deobandi organisation, and the part of Deobandi Muslim movement^{[citation needed]}. The group broke off from the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind in 1945 over that organization's support of the Indian National Congress and refusal to support the Muslim League and its goal of a separate Pakistan.Its first president was Allamah Shabbir Ahmad Usmani.Islam and the Muslim World The JUI remained a religious organization and had limited political significance until it was revived by Maulana Mufti Mahmood, who opposed President Ayub Khan's modernizing policies. Following the collapse of the Khan regime in the late 1960s, the JUI participated in Pakistan's general elections.

Ideologically, JUI is regarded as uncompromisingly rigid and insisting on the strict enforcement of traditional Islamic law^{[citation needed]}. JUI helped establish thousands of madrasahs in Pakistan, more than any other religious movement and also helped create the Taliban movement in Afghanistan, and provide soldiers it for another Deobandi-oriented political movement.

Currently in Pakistan, it has two wings: that of Maulana Sami-ul Haq and that of Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman. Both are members of the national assembly and part of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal coalition.

Election Victories

It is part of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal, an alliance of religious parties that won 11.3% of the popular vote and 53 out of 272 elected members in the 20 October 2002 legislative elections in Pakistan|elections.

In the Pakistani general election, 2008|2008 Pakistani general election, only JUI-F participated because other major chunk of MMA,Jamaat-e-Islami boycotted the elections on the electability of President Pervez Musharraf and the restoration of judiciary issues. But, unlike the 2002 elections when the MMA swept the national and provincial assemblies, JUI-F only won 6 general seats in the National Assembly which garnered them 1 additional seat in the Women Reserved section raising the total to 7 NA seats. In the provincial assemblies, it won 14 seats in the NWFP Assembly, but could only muster 2 seats in the 371-seat Punjab Assembly.

Imran Khan ( Founder/Chairperson of PTI )

Imran Khan is the founder of pakistan tehreek e insaf. Today the most famous and growing party of pakistan by its idology. Pti has the major support from its youth of pakistan.


Imran Khan Niazi (Urdu: عمران خان نیازی) (born 25 November 1952) is a retired Pakistani cricketer who played international cricket for two decades in the late twentieth century and has been a politician since the mid-1990s. Currently, besides his political activism, Khan is also a charity worker and cricket commentator.

Khan played for the Pakistani cricket team from 1971 to 1992 and served as its captain intermittently throughout 1982-1992. After retiring from cricket at the end of the 1987 World Cup, he was called back to join the team in 1988. At 40, Khan led his teammates to Pakistan's first and only World Cup victory in 1992. He has a record of 3807 runs and 362 wickets in Test cricket, making him one of six world cricketers to have achieved an 'All-rounder's Triple' in Test matches.[1]

In April 1996, Khan founded and became the chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (Movement for Justice), a small and marginal political party, of which he is the only member ever elected to Parliament.[2] He represented Mianwali as a member of the National Assembly from November 2002 to October 2007.[3] Khan, through worldwide fundraising, helped establish the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital & Research Centre in 1996 and Mianwali's Namal College in 2008.

Family, education, and personal life

Khan was born to Shaukat Khanum and Ikramullah Khan Niazi, a civil engineer, in Lahore. A quiet and shy boy in his youth, Khan grew up in a middle-class family with four sisters.[4] Settled in Punjab, Khan's father descended from the Niazi Shermankhel tribe of Mianwali.[5] His maternal family includes successful cricketers such as Javed Burki and Majid Khan.[5] Khan was educated at Aitchison College, the Cathedral School in Lahore, and the Royal Grammar School Worcester in England, where he excelled at cricket. In 1972, he enrolled to study Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Keble College, Oxford, where he graduated with a second-class degree in Politics and a third in Economics.[6]

During the 1970s and 1980s, Khan became known as a socialite due to his "non-stop partying" at London nightclubs such as Annabel's and Tramp, though he claims to have hated English pubs and never drank alcohol.[5][2][7][8] He also gained notoriety in London gossip columns for romancing young debutantes such as Susannah Constantine, Lady Liza Campbell and the artist Emma Sergeant.[5] One of these ex-girlfriends, the British heiress Sita White, daughter of Gordon White, Baron White of Hull, became the mother of his alleged illegitimate daughter. A judge in the U.S. ruled him to be the father of Tyrian Jade White, but Khan has denied paternity.[9][10] About his lifestyle as a bachelor, he has often said that, "I never claim to have lead an angelic life."[5]

On 16 May 1995, Khan married English socialite Jemima Goldsmith, a convert to Islam, in a two-minute Islamic ceremony in Paris. A month later, on 21 June, they were married again in a civil ceremony at the Richmond register office in England, followed by a reception at the Goldsmiths' house in Surrey.[11] The marriage, described as "tough" by Khan,[5] produced two sons, Sulaiman Isa (born 18 November 1996) and Kasim (born 10 April 1999).[12] As an agreement of his marriage, Khan spent four months a year in England. On 22 June 2004, it was announced that the Khans had divorced because it was "difficult for Jemima to adapt to life in Pakistan".

Veteran journalist Khalid Hasan reported in 2008 that Khan, beside regularly dying his hair, has had a hair transplant.[14] Khan now resides in Bani Gala, Islamabad, where he built a farmhouse with the money he gained from selling his London flat. He grows fruit trees, wheat, and keeps cows, while also maintaining a cricket ground for his two sons, who visit during their holidays.[5] Khan is also reported to be in regular contact with Tyrian Jade Khan-White, his alleged daughter whom he has never publicly acknowledged.

Cricket career

Khan made a lacklustre first-class cricket debut at the age of sixteen in Lahore. By the start of the 1970s, he was playing for his home teams of Lahore A (1969-70), Lahore B (1969-70), Lahore Greens (1970-71) and, eventually, Lahore (1970-71).[16] Khan was part of Oxford University's Blues Cricket team during the 1973-75 seasons.[6] At Worcestershire, where he played county cricket from 1971 to 1976, he was regarded as only an average medium pace bowler. During this decade, other teams represented by Khan include Dawood Industries (1975-76) and Pakistan International Airlines (1975-76 to 1980-81). From 1983 to 1988, he played for Sussex.[1]

In 1971, Khan made his Test cricket debut against England at Birmingham. Three years later, he debuted in the One Day International (ODI) match, once again playing against England at Nottingham for the Prudential Trophy. After graduating from Oxford and finishing his tenure at Worcestershire, he returned to Pakistan in 1976 and secured a permanent place on his native national team starting from the 1976-77 season, during which they faced New Zealand and Australia.[16] Following the Australian series, he toured the West Indies, where he met Tony Greig, who signed him up for Kerry Packer's World Series Cricket.[1].His credentials as one of the fastest bowlers of the world started to establish when he finished third at 139.7 km/h in a fast bowling contest at Perth in 1978, behind Jeff Thomson and Michael Holding, but ahead of Dennis Lillee, Garth Le Roux and Andy Roberts.[1]. Khan also achieved a Test Cricket Bowling rating of 922 points against India on 30 January 1983. Highest at the time, the performance ranks third on ICC's All Time Test Bowling Rating.[17].

Khan achieved the all-rounder's triple (securing 3000 runs and 300 wickets) in 75 Tests, the second fastest record behind Ian Botham's 72. He is also established as having the second highest all-time batting average of 61.86 for a Test batsman playing at position 6 of the batting order.[18] He played his last Test match for Pakistan in January 1992, against Sri Lanka at Faisalabad. Khan retired permanently from cricket six months after his last ODI, the historic 1992 World Cup final against England at Melbourne, Australia.[19] He ended his career with 88 Test matches, 126 innings and scored 3807 runs at an average of 37.69, including six centuries and 18 fifties. His highest score was 136 runs. As a bowler, he took 362 wickets in Test cricket, which made him the first Pakistani and world's fourth bowler to do so.[1] In ODIs, he played 175 matches and scored 3709 runs at an average of 33.41. His highest score remains 102 not out. His best ODI bowling is documented at 6 wickets for 14 runs.


Captaincy

At the height of his career, in 1982, the thirty-year old Khan took over the captaincy of the Pakistani cricket team from Javed Miandad. Recalling his initial discomfort with this new role, he later said, "When I became the cricket captain, I couldn’t speak to the team directly I was so shy. I had to tell the manager, I said listen can you talk to the, this is what I want to convey to the team. I mean early team meetings I use to be so shy and embarrassed I couldn’t talk to the team."[20] As a captain, Khan played 48 Test matches, out of which 14 were won by Pakistan, 8 lost and the rest of 26 were drawn. He also played 139 ODIs, winning 77, losing 57 and ending one in a tie.[1]

In the team's second match under his leadership, Khan led them to their first Test win on English soil for 28 years at Lord's.[21] Khan's first year as captain was the peak of his legacy as a fast bowler as well as an all-rounder. He recorded the best Test bowling of his career while taking 8 wickets for 58 runs against Sri Lanka at Lahore in 1981-82.[1] He also topped both the bowling and batting averages against England in three Test series in 1982, taking 21 wickets and averaging 56 with the bat. Later the same year, he put up a highly acknowledged performance in a home series against the formidable Indian team by taking 40 wickets in six Tests at an average of 13.95. By the end of this series in 1982-83, Khan had taken 88 wickets in 13 Test matches over a period of one year as captain.[16]
A graph showing Imran Khan's test career bowling statistics and how they have varied over time.

This same Test series against India, however, also resulted in a stress fracture in his shin that kept him out of cricket for more than two years. An experimental treatment funded by the Pakistani government helped him recover by the end of 1984 and he made a successful comeback to international cricket in the latter part of the 1984-85 season.[1]

In 1987, Khan led Pakistan to its first Test series win in India, which was followed by Pakistan's first series victory in England the same year.[21] During the 1980s, his team also recorded three creditable draws against the West Indies. India and Pakistan co-hosted the 1987 World Cup, but neither ventured beyond the semi-finals. Khan retired from international cricket at the end of the World Cup. In 1988, he was asked to return to the captaincy by the President Of Pakistan, General Zia-Ul-Haq, and on 18 January, he announced his decision to rejoin the team.[1] Soon after returning to the captaincy, Khan led Pakistan to another winning tour in the West Indies, which he has recounted as "the last time I really bowled well".[5] He was declared Man of the Series against West Indies in 1988 when he took 23 wickets in 3 tests.[1]

Khan's career-high as a captain and cricketer came when he led Pakistan to victory in the 1992 Cricket World Cup. Playing with a brittle batting lineup, Khan promoted himself as a batsman to play in the top order along with Javed Miandad, but his contribution as a bowler was minimal. At the age of 39, Khan scored the highest runs of all the Pakistani batsmen and took the winning last wicket himself.[16] Khan's acceptance of the World Cup trophy on behalf of the Pakistani team, however, drew criticism. It was reported that Khan's decision to not mention his teammates and his country in his acceptance speech, and instead his focus on himself and his upcoming cancer hospital, "annoyed and embarrassed" many citizens. "Imran's 'I' 'Me' and 'My' speech has upset everyone," read an editorial in the Daily Nation newspaper, which labeled the acceptance speech a "jarring note".


Post-retirement

In 1994, Khan had admitted that, during Test matches, he "occasionally scratched the side of the ball and lifted the seam." He had also added, "Only once did I use an object. When Sussex were playing Hampshire in 1981 the ball was not deviating at all. I got the 12th man to bring out a bottle top and it started to move around a lot."[23] In 1996, Khan successfully defended himself in a libel action brought forth by former English captain and all-rounder Ian Botham and batsman Allan Lamb over comments they alleged were made by Khan in two articles about the above-mentioned ball-tampering and another article published in an Indian magazine, India Today. They claimed that, in the latter publication, Khan had called the two cricketers "racist, ill-educated and lacking in class." Khan protested that he had been misquoted, saying that he was defending himself after having admitted that he tampered with a ball in a county match 18 years ago.[24] Khan won the libel case, which the judge labeled a "complete exercise in futility", with a 10-2 majority decision by the jury.[24]

Since retiring, Khan has written opinion pieces on cricket for various British and Asian newspapers, especially regarding the Pakistani national team. His contributions have been published in India's Outlook magazine,[25], the Guardian,[26] the Independent, and the Telegraph. Khan also sometimes appears as a cricket commentator on Asian and British sports networks, including BBC Urdu[27] and the Star TV network.[8] In 2004, when the Indian cricket team toured Pakistan after 14 years, he was a commentator on TEN Sports' special live show, Straight Drive,[28] while he was also a columnist for sify.com for the 2005 India-Pakistan Test series.[29] He has provided analysis for every cricket World Cup since 1992, which includes providing match summaries for BBC during the 1999 World Cup.


Social work

For more than four years after retiring from cricket in 1992, Khan focused his efforts solely on social work. By 1991, he had founded the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Trust, a charity organization bearing the name of his mother, Mrs. Shaukat Khanum. As the Trust's maiden endeavor, Khan established Pakistan's first and only cancer hospital, constructed using donations and funds exceeding $25 million, raised by Khan from all over the world.[2] Inspired by the memory of his mother, who died of cancer, the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital & Research Centre, a charitable cancer hospital with 75 percent free care, opened in Lahore on 29 December 1994.[5] Khan currently serves as the chairman of the hospital and continues to raise funds with the help of celebrities such as Sushmita Sen,[30][31] and several members of the Pakistani and Indian cricket team.[32] During the 1990s, Khan also served as UNICEF's Special Representative for Sports[33] and promoted health and immunization programmes in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Thailand.[34]

On 27 April 2008, Khan's brainchild, a technical college in the Mianwali District called Namal College, was inaugurated. Namal College was built by the Mianwali Development Trust (MDT), as chaired by Khan, and was made an associate college of the University of Bradford in December 2005.[35] Currently, Khan is building another cancer hospital in Karachi, using his successful Lahore institution as a model. While in London, he also works with the Lord’s Taverners, a cricket charity.

Political work

A few years after the end of his professional career as a cricketer, Khan entered electoral politics while admitting that he had never voted in an election before.[36] Since then, his most significant political work has been to protest against ruling politicians such as Pervez Musharaff and Asif Ali Zardari and his opposition to the US and UK foreign policy. Khan's "politics are not taken seriously in Pakistan and at best rated as single column news items in most newspapers."[37] As reported and by his own admission, Khan's most prominent political supporters are women and the youth.[4] His political foray was influenced by Lieutenant General Hamid Gul, the former Pakistani intelligence chief famous for fueling the Taliban's rise in Afghanistan and for his anti-West viewpoint.[7] In Pakistan, the reaction to his political work has been reported to be such that, "Mention his name at dinner tables and the reaction is the same: people roll their eyes, chuckle lightly, then exhale a sad sigh."[38]

On 25 April 1996, Khan founded his own political party called the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) with a proposed slogan of "Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem."[5] Khan, who contested from 7 districts, and members of his party were universally defeated at the polls in the 1997 general elections. Khan supported General Pervez Musharraf's military coup in 1999, but denounced his presidency a few months before the 2002 general elections. Many political commentators and his opponents termed Khan's change in opinion an opportunistic move. "I regret supporting the referendum. I was made to understand that when he won, the general would begin a clean-up of the corrupt in the system. But really it wasn't the case," he later explained.[39] During the 2002 election season, he also voiced his opposition to Pakistan's logistical support of US troops in Afghanistan by claiming that their country had become a "servant of America."[39] PTI won 0.8% of the popular vote and one out of 272 open seats on the 20 October 2002 legislative elections. Khan, who was elected from the NA-71 constituency of Mianwali, was sworn in as an MP on 16 November.[40] Once in office, Khan voted in favor of the pro-Taliban Islamist candidate for prime minister in 2002, bypassing Musharraf's choice.[7] As an MP, he was part of the Standing Committees on Kashmir and Public Accounts, and expressed legislative interest in Foreign Affairs, Education and Justice.[41]

On 6 May 2005, Khan became one of the first Muslim figures to criticize a 300-word Newsweek story about the alleged desecration of the Qur'an in a U.S. military prison at the Guantánamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba. Khan held a press conference to denounce the article and demanded that Gen. Pervez Musharraf secure an apology from American president George W. Bush for the incident.[7] In 2006, he exclaimed, "Musharraf is sitting here, and he licks George Bush’s shoes!" Criticizing Muslim leaders supportive of the Bush administration, he added, "They are the puppets sitting on the Muslim world. We want a sovereign Pakistan. We do not want a president to be a poodle of George Bush."[20] During George W. Bush's visit to Pakistan in March 2006, Khan was placed under house arrest in Islamabad after his threats of organizing a protest.[5] In June 2007, the federal Parliamentary Affairs Minister Dr. Sher Afghan Khan Niazi and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) party filed separate ineligibility references against Khan, asking for his disqualification as member of the National Assembly on grounds of immorality. Both references, filed on the basis of articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution of Pakistan, were rejected on 5 September.[42]

On 2 October 2007, as part of the All Parties Democratic Movement, Khan joined 85 other MPs to resign from Parliament in protest of the Presidential election scheduled for 6 October, which General Musharraf was contesting without resigning as army chief.[3] On 3 November 2007, Khan was put under house arrest at his father's home hours after President Musharraf declared a state of emergency in Pakistan. Khan had demanded the death penalty for Musharraf after the imposition of emergency rule, which he equated to "committing treason". The next day, on 4 November, Khan escaped and went into peripatetic hiding.[43] He eventually came out of hiding on 14 November to join a student protest at the University of the Punjab.[44] At the rally, Khan was captured by students from the Jamaat-i-Islami political party, who claimed that Khan was an uninvited nuisance at the rally, and they handed him over to the police, who charged him under the Anti-terrorism act for allegedly inciting people to pick up arms, calling for civil disobedience, and for spreading hatred.[45] Incarcerated in the Dera Ghazi Khan Jail, Khan's relatives had access to him and were able to meet him to deliver goods during his week-long stay in jail. On 19 November, Khan let out the word through PTI members and his family that he had begun a hunger strike but the Deputy Superintendent of Dera Ghazi Khan Jail denied this news, saying that Khan had bread, eggs and fruit for breakfast.[46] Khan was one of the 3,000 political prisoners released from imprisonment on 21 November 2007.[47]

His party boycotted the national elections on 18 February 2008 and hence, no member of PTI has served in Parliament since Khan's resignation in 2007.


Ideology

Khan's proclaimed political platform and declarations include: Islamic values, to which he rededicated himself in the 1990s; liberal economics, with the promise of deregulating the economy and creating a welfare state; decreased bureaucracy and anti-corruption laws, to create and ensure a clean government; the establishment of an independent judiciary; overhaul of the country's police system; and an anti-militant vision for a democratic Pakistan.[8][48][19]

Khan has credited his decision to enter politics with a spiritual awakening, influenced by his conversations with a mystic from the Sufi sect of Islam that began in the last years of his cricket career. "I never drank or smoked, but I used to do my share of partying. In my spiritual evolution there was a block," he explained to the American Washington Post. As an MP, Khan sometimes voted with a bloc of hard-line religious parties such as the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal, whose leader, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, he supported for prime minister over Musharraf's candidate in 2002. Rehman is a pro-Taliban cleric who has called for holy war against the United States.[8] On religion in Pakistan, Khan has said that, "As time passes by, religious thought has to evolve, but it is not evolving, it is reacting against Western culture and often has nothing to do with faith or religion."

Khan told Britain's Daily Telegraph, "I want Pakistan to be a welfare state and a genuine democracy with a rule of law and an independent judiciary."[19] Other ideas he has presented include a requirement of all students to spend a year after graduation teaching in the countryside and cutting down the over-staffed bureaucracy in order to send them to teach too.[39] "We need decentralisation, empowering people at the grass roots," he has said.[49] In June 2007, Khan publicly deplored Britain for knighting Indian-born author Salman Rushdie. He said, "Western civilisation should have been mindful of the injury the writer had caused to the Muslim community by writing his highly controversial book, The Satanic Verses."

Image and criticism

Khan is often dismissed as a political lightweight[44] and a celebrity outsider in Pakistan,[20] where national newspapers also refer to him as a "spoiler politician".[51] The MQM political party has asserted that Khan is "a sick person who has been a total failure in politics and is alive just because of the media coverage."[52] The Political observers say the crowds he draws are attracted by his cricketing celebrity, and the public has been reported to view him as a figure of entertainment rather than a serious political authority.[39] His failure to gain political power or build a national support base is ascribed, by commentators and observers, to Khan's lack of political maturity and naivete.[8] Newspaper columnist Ayaz Amir told the American Washington Post: "[Khan] doesn't have that political thing which sets bellies on fire."

The Guardian newspaper in England described Khan as a "miserable politician," observing that, "Khan's ideas and affiliations since entering politics in 1996 have swerved and skidded like a rickshaw in a rainshower... He preaches democracy one day but gives a vote to reactionary mullahs the next."[38] The charge constantly raised against Khan is that of hypocrisy and opportunism, including what has been called his life's "playboy to puritan U-turn."[20] One of Pakistan's most respected political commentators, Najam Sethi, stated that, "A lot of the Imran Khan story is about backtracking on a lot of things he said earlier, which is why this doesn’t inspire people."[20] Khan's political flip-flops consist of his vocal criticism of President Musharraf after having supported his military takeover in 1999. Similarly, Khan was a critic of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif when Sharif was in power, having said at the time: "Our current prime minister has a fascist mind-set, and members of parliament cannot go against the ruling party. We think that every day he stays in power, the country is sinking more into anarchy."[53] Yet, he joined forces with Sharif in 2008 against Musharraf. In a column entitled "Will the Real Imran Please Stand Up," Pakistani columnist Amir Zia quoted one of PTI's Karachi-based leaders as saying, "Even we are finding it difficult to figure out the real Imran. He dons the shalwar-kameez and preaches desi and religious values while in Pakistan, but transforms himself completely while rubbing shoulders with the elite in Britain and elsewhere in the west."[54]

In 2008, as part of the Hall of Shame awards for 2007, Pakistan's Newsline magazine gave Khan the "Paris Hilton award for being the most undeserving media darling." The 'citation' for Khan read: "He is the leader of a party that is the proud holder of one National Assembly seat (and) gets media coverage inversely proportional to his political influence." The Guardian has described the coverage garnered by Khan's post-retirement activities in England, where he made his name as a cricket star and a night-club regular, as "terrible tosh, with danger attached. It turns a great (and greatly miserable) Third World nation into a gossip-column annex. We may all choke on such frivolity."[55] After the 2008 general elections, political columnist Azam Khalil addressed Khan, who remains respected as a cricket legend, as one of the "utter failures in Pakistani politics".[56] Writing in the Frontier Post, Khalil added: "Imran Khan has time and again changed his political course and at present has no political ideology and therefore was not taken seriously by a vast majority of the people."

Awards and honours

In 1992, Khan was honoured with Pakistan's prestigious civil award, the Hilal-i-Imtiaz. Before that, he had received the President’s Pride of Performance Award in 1983. Khan is featured in the University of Oxford's Hall of Fame and has been an honorary fellow of Oxford's Keble College.[33] On 7 December 2005, Khan was appointed the fifth Chancellor of the University of Bradford, where he is also a patron of the Born in Bradford research project.

In 1976 as well as 1980, Khan was awarded The Cricket Society Wetherall Award for being the leading all-rounder in English first-class cricket. He was also named Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1983, Sussex Cricket Society Player of the Year in 1985, and the Indian Cricket Cricketer of the Year in 1990.[16] Khan is currently placed at Number 8 on the all-time list of the ESPN Legends of Cricket. On 5 July 2008, he was one of several veteran Asian cricketers presented special silver jubilee awards at the inaugural Asian cricket Council (ACC) award ceremony in Karachi.

On 8 July 2004, Khan was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2004 Asian Jewel Awards in London, for "acting as a figurehead for many international charities and working passionately and extensively in fund-raising activities.[58] On 13 December 2007, Khan received the Humanitarian Award at the Asian Sports Awards in Kuala Lumpur for his efforts in setting up the first cancer hospital in Pakistan.[59] In 2009, at International Cricket Council's centennial year celebration, Khan was one of fifty-five cricketers inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame.

Writings by Khan

Khan occasionally contributes opinion editorials on cricket and Pakistani politics to British newspapers. He has also published four little-known works of non-fiction, including an autobiography co-written with Patrick Murphy. It was disclosed in 2008 that Khan did not write his second book, Indus Journey: A Personal View of Pakistan. Instead, his the book's publisher Jeremy Lewis revealed in a memoir that he had to write the book for Khan. Lewis recalls that when he asked Khan to show his writing for publication, "he handed me a leatherbound notebook or diary containing a few jottings and autobiographical snippets. It took me, at most, five minutes to read them; and that, it soon became apparent, was all we had to go on."

* Khan, Imran (1989). Imran Khan's cricket skills. London : Golden Press in association with Hamlyn. ISBN 0600563499.
* Khan, Imran & Murphy, Patrick (1983). Imran: The autobiography of Imran Khan. Pelham Books. ISBN 0720714893.
* Khan, Imran (1991). Indus Journey: A Personal View of Pakistan. Chatto & Windus. ISBN 0701135271.
* Khan, Imran (1992). All Round View. Mandarin. ISBN 0749314990.
* Khan, Imran (1993). Warrior Race: A Journey Through the Land of the Tribal Pathans. Chatto Windus. ISBN 0701138904

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf(PTI)

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (Urdu: پاکستان تحريک انصاف) (Pakistan Movement for Justice) is a political party in Pakistan. In the Pakistani general election, 2002, the party won 0.8% of the popular vote and 1 out of 272 elected members[1]. PTI is headed by former Pakistani cricket captain Imran Khan. "Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem" is the slogan of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. Imran Khan, the chairman of the party is also the Chancellor of the University of Bradford, England. He has a BA in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics and is a Master of Arts of the University of Oxford.[2] He has put forward a solution for Pakistan's issues related to its system. His solution has three points:

1. Independent Election Commission
2. Independent Judiciary
3. Independent Accountability Bureau
4. Education Emergency

Leadership

Chairman: Imran Khan

Senior Vice President: Hamid Khan

Secretary General: Dr. Arif Alvi

Deputy Information Secretary: Iftikhar Ahmad Chaudhry

Central Information Secretary: Omar Sarfaraz Cheema

Spokesperson on Foreign Affairs: Shireen M. Mazari

Agenda

Ideology

mran Khan has called for social and economic development of Pakistani people through justice at all levels of the society through moderation while keeping in mind Islamic principles. PTI aims at improving the situation of the Pakistani people through education and enlightenment.

PTI opposes the war being waged within Pakistan by the Pakistani Army, but also opposes the training of bombers to engage in revenge attacks. The party's popularity has seen a meteoric rise among the masses, especially among young people aged 18 to 30 who are inspired by Imran's charismatic leadership. The party believes that Pakistan should be self-reliant & should establish relations with the West as equals and not subordinates.

2008 General Elections

It was the first time in the history of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, since it was established, that it did not contested in the elections, which were held on 18 February 2008. The reason given was that Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry was put in house aresst by General (ret) Pervez Musharraf and not allowed to work[5]. Hence all the nominess of PTI burnt there nomination papers with chairman teraing off his papers infront of the whole media. Following is what was said by the chairman of the party Imran Khan in a press conference:
"I am tearing my nomination papers publicly because I feel that to even file my papers will be a betrayal of our judiciary. For the first time in 60 years history our supreme court has stood for an independent judiciary and rule of law and shunned the doctrine of necessity. Any politician, who participates in these fraudulent elections held under an unconstitutional and illegal PCO, will be strengthening a dictator and upholding the doctrine of necessity that has been the greatest impediment in our country achieving its huge potential. We will not only betray the honorable judges who have made personal sacrifices to uphold the constitution, but also our future generations.

This would have been the first election that PTI would have fought while being properly prepared. But we have decided to boycott it and urge other parties not to participate and give legitimacy to an unconstitutional act. As per the decision of the APDM we hope that all the parties will boycott the elections if the Pre-Nov 3 conditions are not restored. I also urge all political parties to join hands in the foiling Gen. Musharraf's last attempt to cling power.''

Insaf Student Federation

Insaf Student Federation is the official student wing of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, the idea on which it is based is to promote the objectives of creation of Pakistan without any prejudice.It was establish in January 2007, lead by the chief organizer Mr. Ejaz Chaudhry. The federation believes in organizing the students who are willing to build a strong nation. It mainly promotes healthy activities like book fairs, seminars, declamation, sports competition, etc.

Charity Work

Sasta Tandoor

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf started Sasta Tandoor project on 26 August. It was started for poor people who could not afford to buy roti. "According to Mian Mehmood-ur-Rashid, the president of PTI Lahore, the idea was plucked out of the books of the AKP (former Welfare) party in Turkey which had begun to sell bread at subsidized rates in the localities of Ankara and Istanbul after the country was hit with hyper inflation in the mid-1980’s. Places selling cheap bread became so popular in Turkey, that private bakeries ended up going out of business. It was schemes like these which helped propel the AKP to become the largest and most popular party in Turkish politics."[7] The first Sasta Tandoor was started in Lahore. After that it was started in Peshawar, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Sialkot and Karachi. Following are the number of Sasta Tandoor's working till date:

* Rawalpindi: 2 * Islamabad: 2 * Peshawar: 2 * Karachi: 2 * Sialkot: 1 * Lahore: 4

The program is being run on donations by overseas PTI members, with a direct link of PayPal available on the official website of the party to donate specifically for Sasta Tandoor.

Membership Drive
Imran Khan giving autographs on membership forms for new members in Lahore

The membership campaign was started by Imran Khan for PTI to make it more famous and make the people of Pakistan know its agenda more deeply. The 'membership drive' is still going on and has been successful till date. Also it was given an indication that the campaign will be spread country-wide and will surely cover the populated areas of the country.

The membership campaign arranged by the party is a very unique one, with number 'floats' roaming the specified cities with huge banners on them of the party and Imran Khan. Also a documentary named 'Nijat-e-Dahinda (The Saviour)' is shown on screen, in which the vision of the chairman and the manifesto of the party is explained. In the end of the documentary, Imran Khan appears and gives a message to the people to join the party and strengthen its hands.

Lahore

PTI started its membership drive with the slogan of 'change' from Lahore on 16 Nov 2008 and ended it on 1 Dec 2008 with the chairman of the party Imran Khan giving a speech at Nasir Bagh, where more than 4000 people gathered.[8]
People gathering at the membership camp to join the party

The membership was very successful and near 1,50000 (1Lac 50 Thousand) people with more than 500 lawyers joined the party.[9] This was a great shock to all the mainstream parties of Pakistan (PML(N), PML(Q), PPP) as Tehreek-e-Insaf was always considered as very little party with no supporters at all. This was also an indication that people in Lahore started to think PTI as a substitute for the always leading political party, PML(N). The membership made PML(Q) start its own membership campaign on the pattern of PTI, but it was not able to get any attention. Also other parties like Pakistan Muslim League(N) and Pakistan Peoples Party have jumped into ground and started to popularize their parties in Lahore.

Rawalpindi/Islamabad

The membership dive was further extended and taken to Rawalpindi/Islamabad, which started on 15 Dec 2008 and ended on 25 Dec 2008. A warm welcome was given by the people of these joint cities to the membership campaign of Tehreek-e-Insaf.[11] Even though the weather was not a favorable one to the membership drive from the day it started, still people of these cities came out and joined PTI. Most of the people joining were lawyers, students, and people from lower-middle class. Also a great number of women were seen at the camps and floats to join the party same as Lahore.

Peshawar People in Peshawar gather to welcome Imran Khan on 23 Dec 2008

The next city chosen was Peshawar. This city is the capital of NWFP. It is to be noted that survey conducted by International Republican Institute(IRI), in 2007, showed PTI as the second most popular party in this province.[12] The membership campaign was to be started on the same day as on Rawalpindi, but due to some problems it was delayed till 20 December 2008.[13] This didn't give any setback to the campaign and the people of the city responded the same as the other cities and around 2,000 members were made from a single camp on the first day, which was a great success.[14] Same as the other citites, mostly educated persons were seen to be joining PTI.[15] Here the number of women appearing on the camps was less than the other cities camps due to some cultural prohibitions but many old people, ranging from 75-85 years, were seen to be joining PTI. After 8 days of campaiging, around 60,000 people joined PTI.[16] Also the chairman of the party, Imran Khan went to Peshawar on 23 December 2008, during the membership campaign. It proved to be an historic event as thousands of people gathered there to welcome him.

Other Cities This membership campaign was been further extended to Faisalabad, and around 80,000 members were made from this city.[18] The next cities where the membership is to be started, as the sources tell, are Multan and Gujranwala.

Sheikh Rashid Ahmad ( Founder Of AML )

Shaikh Rasheed Ahmad (Urdu: شيخ رشيد احمد) (born November 6, 1950) is a Pakistani politician and writer. He served as the Federal Minister for Railways in Pakistan from 2006 to 2008. His previous portfolio have included appointments as Federal Minister for Labor and Manpower, Information and Broadcasting, Industries, Sports Culture, and Tourism and Investment. Known for his foolish rhetoric, Shaikh Rashid is the buffon of pakistani politics. Many a times his hilarious, though stupid comments have provided great entertainment and very little substance.

Shaikh Rasheed Ahmed was born in Rawalpindi.[citation needed] He studied at Rawalpindi Polytechnic College and later at Gordon College. He completed his Bachelor of Laws at the University of Lahore. Throughout his education, Shaikh Rasheed was very active in student politics.

He was first elected to the National Assembly of Pakistan in 1985, and was re-elected a record six times.

He used to be the right-hand man of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif but left Nawaz League and joined the newly formed Muslim League to get into ministership again. He is hugely popular in Rawalpindi and is known for creating a large number of schools in that city. He is famous for his 'awami style' (public style) of politics. He is one of few politicians who started their political career at grass roots level and rose to prominence. He is the author of Farzand-e-Pakistan, and is currently working on another book, Sub Achha Hai.[citation needed]

Shaikh Rasheed Ahmed was appointed Federal Minister for Railways in May 2006 and served in that capacity until 2008.

He lives in Lal Haveli in the heart of Rawalpindi. Lal Haveli has become a tourist destination due to its beautiful, ancient architecture.
Lal Haveli

He has been organizing a big public meeting on the eve of 14th of August (independence day of Pakistan) at his residence Lal Haveli and the firework show is extremely popular among the people of the city and hundreds of thousands people turn to watch this show every year.

He also ran a jihadi training camp in the late 1980s.[1] This is stark contrast to his contemporary politics as a staunch supporter of "enlightened moderation".

Rasheed Ahmad has his roots in Srinagar--capital of Indian administered Kashmir and is known for his support to the anti-India uprising in Jammu and Kashmir. He shot into prominence when Indian Government denied him permission to visit New Delhi in 2004 fall, after a Kashmiri separatist Yasin Malik said that Shaikh Rasheed's residence and farm house has been used by militant organisations.

His fiery speeches on Kashmir are widely appreciated in Indian administered Kashmir. Shaikh Rasheed has a dream to visit Srinagar to offer prayers at the graves of his forefathers.

On October 2, 2007, Gen. Pervez Musharraf named Lt. Gen. Ashfaq Kayani, as vice chief of the army starting October 8. If Musharraf wins the presidency and resigns his military post, Kayani will be army chief. Meanwhile, Minister Shaikh Rasheed Ahmed stated that officials agreed to grant Benazir Bhutto amnesty versus pending corruption charges. [2]

In the February 2008 general elections, Shaikh Rasheed lost both of his Rawalpindi constituencies, NA-55 and NA-56.[3] After his defeat, there were rumors that Shaikh Rasheed had fled to Spain,[4] however, these allegations were later discovered to be false.[5] In June 2008, he announced formation of new political party, Awami Muslim League.

Awami Muslim League

Awami Muslim League (Urdu: عوامی مسلم لیگ) is political party in Pakistan headed by Sheikh Rashid Ahmad[1]. Awami Muslim League was formed in June 2008. Sheikh Rashid Ahmad served as the Federal Minister for Railways in Pakistan from 2006 to 2008. His previous portfolio have included appointments as Federal Minister for Labor and Manpower, Information and Broadcasting, Industries, Sports Culture, and Tourism and Investment.

Jamaat-e-Islami

Jamaat-e-Islami (Urdu: جماعتِ اسلامی, "Islamic Block" Jamaat, JI) is an Islamist political party in Pakistan. It was founded in Lahore, India, by Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi on 26 August 1941,[1] and is the oldest religious party in Pakistan.[1] Today sister organizations with similar objectives and ideological approaches exist in India, (Jamaat-e-Islami Hind), Bangladesh (Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh), Kashmir, and Sri Lanka, and there are "close brotherly relations" with the Islamist movements and missions "working in different continents and countries", particularly those affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood or Akhwan-al-Muslimeen.[1].

The JI envisions an Islamic government in Pakistan governing by Islamic law. It opposes Westernization--including capitalism, socialism, or such practices as bank interest, and liberalist social mores.[2] JI states, "The Muslim woman is accorded full spiritual and intellectual equality with man...",[3]

JI stated means to power is by peaceful methods - "We have to convince the people that a ‘Bloody Revolution’ is a path leading to destruction and the ‘Islamic Revolution’ is the path ensuring true change and deliverance."[4] It seeks to convert members of the Pakistani elite to its cause and "exercising influence in all branches of Pakistani society".[5]

JI advocates the use of the Pakistani army in separating the predominately-Muslim province of Kashmir from India, its president calling Pakistan-administered Kashmir the base-camp for the jihad in Indian-administered Kashmir.[6] Insinuations of links between JI and al-Qaeda have also been alleged. [7]

The party was founded in British India in the year 1941 by Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi as a religious movement to promote Islamic values and practices. Initially, it was against the Pakistan Movement (a movement to divide British India into two nations - India and Pakistan) on the basis of the Unity or Jama'ah and the Universalist ideas imbibed in Islam. That position changed during the Partition of India.

The JI's position was redefined in 1947 to support an Islamic State in Pakistan. Their goal was to realize this by purging society of what they viewed as "deviant behaviour", which would lead to the establishment of Islamic law in the region.

The writings of Maududi gained a wide audience. He eventually retired in 1972.[2]

In 1953 Maududi started his campaign against Ahmadiyya Muslims, denouncing them as heretics in his book, Qadiani Problem.[8] JI demanded that Ahmadiyya Muslims officially be known as non-Muslims and the ensuing incitement resulted in 2,000 Ahmadiyya deaths in Pakistani Punjab. Eventually, martial law had to be established and Governor general Ghulam Mohamed dismissed the federal cabinet. This anti-Ahmadiyya movement led Pakistani Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto to eventually declare the Ahmadiyyas as "non-Muslims".[2][8]

Liberal groups in Pakistan raised the question of whether the JI could be regarded as a political party or a subversive group. The Pakistani supreme court ruled in favor of the JI as a "legitimate political group". Eventually, JI became the dominant voice for the Islamic ulema with regards to Pakistan's first constitution. They became an opposition party from 1950-1977.[2]

During the 1969-71 military dictatorship of Yahya Khan, the JI started to collaborate with the military dictators. Their student wings turned into violent militant bodies and forcibly suppressed the rise of leftist movements on university campuses[citation needed].

Confident of state support, the JI contested the 1970 elections, only to suffer big reversals. It was clear that many people in Pakistan did not support them at that time and so far that situation is not changed yet.

By 1976, Jamaat's street power multiplied by 150,000 new entrants when it swore to organize marches to Islamabad for implementing Sharia. In 1977, Maududi cobbled together a grand alliance of rightist parties and launched a "civil disobedience campaign", leading to his arrest. So powerful had Jamaat become in Islamist ranks by then that the Sunni government of Saudi Arabia personally intervened to secure Maududi's release by dangling the specter of "revolution" in Pakistan.[8]

Initially supporting the incoming President of Pakistan, Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, they had conflicts with the decade-long Zia regime when he chose to ban student unions, including the ones under JI, such as the IJT. At this time, the IJT grew increasingly militant and clashed violently with other student organizations in Pakistan. The IJT became major recruiting grounds for the ranks of the JI and they havoc the concept of student unions.[2]

In their aggressive support for Islamization of Pakistan, they piloted the Sharia bill through the Pakistani Senate in 1986. Over the course of the 1990s their influence diminished somewhat. In the 1993 national elections, the JI captured only 3 seats in the national assembly.[2]

During the democratic interlude of 1988-99, the Jamaat continued to act as an "eternal opponent" of non-Islamic rulers, while grabbing power-sharing chances, especially under Nawaz Sharif.[8] The 1999 Pervez Musharraf coup was welcomed by the JI, but once Musharraf started reforms, they turned against him and started preaching radical Islamism, warning that "Pakistan's destiny lay in the Islamic revolution" and that party workers "were ready to sacrifice their lives for the cause of Almighty Allah and His Prophets (PBUT)".[8]

In the legislative elections of Pakistan on October 20, 2002, Jamaat-e-Islami got 53 out of 272 elected members.

Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal

JI is a member of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA, United Council of Action, United Front), a coalition between religious-political parties in Pakistan. The MMA has denounced President Musharraf for "betraying" the Taliban and siding with the U.S. against them. They reject any attempts to settle the Kashmir dispute with India peacefully and support the Kashmir "Jihad". The MMA also denounces the presence of American troops and agencies in Pakistan. One of the allegation is that they support militant groups banned by the government.[9]

[edit] Views and platform

The JI website gives the party's position on various matters in a statement on "Objectives, Goals and Approach.

War

JI believes that war and organized violence "...flows from man’s lack of complete allegiance to God Almighty as a supreme Creator,"[10] although it supports armed jihad in Indian-held Kashmir.

Kashmir and India
For more details on this topic, see Indo-Pakistani wars and conflicts.

Pakistan and India have fought three wars, in two of them the casus belli was the disputed Kashmir region.

In 2002, President Musharraf prohibited the movement of armed militants across the Line of Control that divides the disputed territory. His pledge to stop militants from crossing the line was a significant factor in the easing of tensions with India.[6]

JI organized a protest rally against his action. Qazi Hussain Ahmed, president of JI, said Pakistan-administered Kashmir was the base-camp for the jihad (holy war) in Indian-administered Kashmir and no one in Pakistan had the right to create obstacles in its way. He said the people of Pakistan were not afraid of another war with India and demanded President Musharraf take a firmer stand in support of the struggle of the Kashmir's Muslims


A vanguard party, its members (or arkan) form an elite with "affiliates" (mutaffiq) and then "sympathisers" (hamdard) beneath them. [1] Members are often referred to - usually by others - as Jamaatis. The latter is also used as an adjective for certain political viewpoint or attitude.

Prejudice

The Jamaat-e-Islami is an ideological party, devoid of any trace of expediency, power-politics, prejudices of caste, colour, country, language and nationality." [10] In the Islamic state it seeks, however, only Muslims would have ruling positions. JI does believe in discrimination against the Ahmadiyya sect, which it believes is un-Islamic. It has been accused of "fomenting religious violence against [Ahmadis] and other religious minorities.

Human rights

JI sets forth that, "Islam has laid down universal fundamental rights for humanity which are to be observed and respected in all circumstances." They state, "...it is not permissible to oppress women, children, old people, the sick or the wounded; women's honour and chastity must be respected; the hungry must be fed, the naked clothed and the wounded or diseased treated medically irrespective of whether they belong to the Islamic community or are from amongst its enemies.

Non-Muslim rights

"The life, property and honour of a Non-Muslim is to be respected and protected in exactly the same way as that of a Muslim citizen. Nor is there difference between a Muslim and a Non-Muslim citizen in respect of civil or criminal law. The Islamic state may not interfere with the personal rights of Non-Muslims, who have full freedom of conscience and belief and are at liberty to perform their religious rites and ceremonies in their own way."[13]

While the JI platform states there is no difference between a Muslim and a Non-Muslim in respect to law, the JI supported the Hudood Ordinance which states if a Muslim is accused of rape, all witnesses against him (other than the victim) must be Muslims themselves.

Women's rights

JI states, "The Muslim woman is accorded full spiritual and intellectual equality with man...", their position on women's rights is from a "Islamic point of view" which is at odds with international beliefs of equal rights.[3]

Unlike Western ideals, women are not considered to have the same roles as men (other than those restricted by biology) but that both men and women have separate but equal duties and rights.

"Anything a wife earns is her own to dispose of, either to use it herself or to contribute it to the family budget if she wishes.", however she, "is to recognize her husband as the person responsible for the running of the affairs of the family, and thus to obey him even if his judgement is not acceptable to her, in a particular matter, provided he does not go beyond the limits of Islam.

JI feels that Muslim woman have the right to property after a divorce. However, the man receives twice the amount of the woman of their joint property. Since the man is supposed to provide for the maintenance of all the women and children in their family, it is considered fair since the woman's share is for herself alone.[15]

When a woman goes out in public, "...she is expected to wear a dress which will cover all parts of her body, and which should not reveal the figure."[16] Men are also supposed to dress modestly, however in practice their attire is far less restricted.

Adultery and Rape

Failure to prove rape places the woman at risk of prosecution for the accusing an innocent man of adultery, which does not require such strong evidence or the woman could be accused of adultery herself, if she is married. However, Muhammad Taqi Usmani who was instrumental in drafting the Hudood Ordinance, claims that, "she cannot be punished in case she is unable to present 4 witnesses."[17]

As a result of these issues and international pressure, the Women's Protection Bill was passed by the National Assembly of Pakistan on 15 November 2006. This Bill brings rape under the Pakistan Penal Code, which is based on civil law, not Sharia (Islamic law). The Bill removes the right of police to detain people suspected of having sex outside of marriage, instead requiring a formal accusation in court. Under the changes, adultery and non-marital consensual sex is still an offense but now judges would be allowed to try rape cases in criminal rather than Islamic courts. That does away with the need for the four witnesses and allows convictions to be made on the basis of forensic and circumstantial evidence.

The MMA opposed the Women's Protection Bill. Samia Raheel Qazi, MP and daughter of Qazi Hussain Ahmed stated, "We have been against the bill from the start. The Hudood Ordinance was devised by a highly qualified group of ulema (Islamic scholars), and is beyond question". The JI believe that the bill did not need scrapping, but needed to be applied in a fairer way, and undestood properly by judges. She maintained that the new bill goes against articles 2a and 227 of the constitution of Pakistan, which state respectively that "Islam will be the state religion" and "No laws will be passed which are repugnant to the Koran and sunnah.

Activities

The Jamat is very active in the field of Dawah (Missionary movement), Tarbiyah (Islamic education) and Tanzeem (organizations) almost in all the areas of Pakistan.

It has a strong body in each province which is further divided in district, cities, towns and village zones and sectors.

Jamat has also its unions for doctors, teachers and workers and the same is in the female wing of Jamat Halqa Khawateen (circle of women).

Neither the "Islamic theodemocracy" nor the "Islamic economy" of the JI have been attained, and though their leader, Qazi Hussain rhetorically claims that "Allah will rule in Islamabad in five years", his organization still remains on the fringes within Pakistan.[8]

Their failures in Pakistan are matched by their successes in foreign Islamist support and militant actions. Their faith in Islamic Jihad and Islamic terrorism gave them sizable currency among the Mujahideen in Afghanistan, Kashmir and other areas troubled by insurgency. They have links with many international militant groups, such as the Hizb-i-Islami during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan.[8]Jamaat's profession of imparting "Muslims the religious instruction that they lack" has acted as a decoy for training and indoctrination of thousands of mujahideen to fight not only in Afghanistan but also as far as Chechnya, Bosnia, Sinkiang, Nagorno-Karabagh and Southeast Asia. One of the more fascinating strategies of the ISI-Jamaat nexus in Central Asia is to "disintegrate the Russian Federation itself and the recomposition of a new structure dominated by conservative Islamist regimes".[8]

The JI was initially supported by the Inter-Services Intelligence, but the capture of Kabul by the Taliban was as setback for JI on account of their sympathies with the Northern Alliance. Thus, the ISI, which backed the Taliban initially, alienated the JI. However, they have risen in support for the Taliban groups in recent years, including a "strategic triangle" of Hizb-i-Islami, al-Qaeda and the Taliban, which is in place to dethrone the Hamad Karzai government in Kabul through a new jihad. Thus, the JI will once again rise to promincence in Afghanistan.[8] They are alleged to have contacts with separatist groups in Kashmir. It has been suggested that JI is supported by the Pakistani state in its Kashmiri activities because it is the only separatist organization in Kashmir committed to unification with Pakistan. It has also been alleged that JI maintains camps in Kashmir for training militants, both Kashmiri and foreign, for 'Jihad against India'.

Various Islamic groups are engaged in competition in trying to provide relief efforts to earthquake victims in Pakistan. JI and affiliated groups have been involved in such efforts in the Pakistani city of Balakot.

Allegation of links to extremists

In a 1993 US Congressional Report, it is stated that Hizbul Mujahideen has been supported by, and closely affiliated with Jamaat-i-Islami, "from which they receive funding, weapons and training assistance beyond the ISI's contribution. Following the organizational principles recommended by Tehran and Khartoum, the movement has transformed into the Kashmiri Jamaat-i-Islami, under Abdul-Majid Dar, with a quasi-legal character emphasizing educational and social activism, with the Hizbul Mujahideen as the clandestine terrorist arm." Regarding the training of Kashmiri Islamic militants, the report states that, "Islamist indoctrination and other assistance is provided the Jamaat-i-Islami of Pakistan."[20]

GlobalSecurity.org report that Hizbul Mujahideen was formed in 1989 in the Kashmir valley "as the militant wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami at the behest of the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), Pakistan’s external intelligence agency, to counter the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), which had advocated complete independence of the State."[21]

Khurshid Ahmed, writes on Jamaat.org, "The reason of war is Islamic forces’ meddling in Kashmir where religious parties’ role, and particularly of Jamaat-e-Islami, is highlighted. Collaboration and cooperation between the military and the Islamic forces is held responsible for the situation."[22]

The Times of India reports, "The Hizbul Mujahideen had borne the brunt of counter-insurgency operations for the past two years. He also found its political wing, the Jamaat-e-Islami, and its ameer, Ghulam Mohammed Butt, stressing the necessity for dialogue."[23]

Pakistan's Interior Minister Makhdoom Faisel Saleh Hayat has spoken about alleged links between JI and al-Qaeda, "All of the activists and terrorists who have been apprehended in recent months have had links to the Jamaat-e-Islami, whether we have arrested them in Lahore or here or Karachi .... They have been harboring them." He and other analysts add, however, that they do not believe there is an official policy to support Al Qaeda fugitives by the Jamaat or other United Front members.