Abstract
Though Pakistani politics is heavily influenced by religion
assumed to be the reason d'etat of the creation of Pakistan,
prior to 2002, religious, political parties had never achieved effective
electoral results. The October 2002 elections for the National and
Provincial Assemblies were a turning point for the religious, political parties
in the history of Pakistan. It was the first time that a conglomeration of six
religious, political parties, the Jamaat-i-Islami, the Jamiat-i-Ulema-iPakistan (JUP-N), Jamiat-i-Ahle Hadith (JAH-S), the Jamiat-Ulema-iIslam (JUI-F), Jamiat-Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-S), and the Tehrik-i-Jaferia
Pakistan (TJP) swept the polls under the umbrella of the Muttahida Majlise-Amal (MMA) (United Council for Action) due to the active support of
the Army and America. The alliance emerged as the third-largest political
force in the country, with 45 out of the 272 National Assembly general
seats. Moreover, the MMA got an overwhelming mandate in the KhyberPakhtunkhwa (KP) and Baluchistan, allowing it to form a government in
the KP and became a coalition partner in Baluchistan. The present study
is an attempt to answer the question, "what were the causative factors of
MMA's emergence and whether it achieved what it promised during the
election campaign?".
Authors
1-Jamal Shah : Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, Government Post Graduate College, Mardan, KP, Pakistan.2-Zahir Shah : Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan, KP, Pakistan.3-Syed Ali Shah : Assistant Professor, Department of Pakistan Studies, Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan, KP, Pakistan.
Keywords
Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakhtun Nationalism, Religious Political Parties, Election
DOI Number
10.31703/gpr.2021(VI-I).13
Page Nos
142-153
Volume & Issue
VI - I