ISLAMABAD: The proscribed Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ) is likely to contest the upcoming general election on its own but in disguise by fielding candidates either as independent or as representatives of another registered party.

Some ASWJ leaders belonging to Punjab believed that the group would form an electoral alliance with the largest religious party, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl or JUI-Sami but their expectations shattered with the emerging political scene, while the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, too, was moving away from their traditional allies to take maximum advantage of their closeness with the Pirs and Barelvi groups as witnessed in the recent Lodhran election.

ASWJ-backed independent candidate Maulana Masroor Nawaz Jhangvi, the son of slain Sipah-i-Sahaba founder Haq Nawaz Jhangvi, had defeated the rival PML-N candidate in the by-election for the Punjab Assembly constituency PP-78 in December 2016. Later, the ASWJ-backed candidate joined the JUI-F, bringing the lone presence of the party to the Punjab Assembly.

However, the JUI-F’s recent move to revive the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) with Allama Sajid Naqvi leader of the banned group, Tehreek-i-Jafria Pakistan, has discounted the possibility of an alliance between ASWJ and the JUI-F.

“We have been dodged by the political parties and religious groups. It is time we show our nationwide strength to both,” said ASWJ patron Allama Mohammed Ahmed Ludhianvi, while talking to Dawn. “We have strength from 5,000 votes to simple majority in some constituencies. We will show our strength in the general elections,” declared the patron of ASWJ.

Since both Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan and ASWJ have been banned by the interior ministry, the latter claimed to have already devised an election plan that includes fielding its candidates from the platform of Pakistan Rah-i-Haq Party (PRP), or independent candidates or forming alliances in a few areas.

To avoid a controversy, ASWJ decided that like some other office-bearers its president Aurangzeb Farooqui, too, would contest the elections as an independent candidate from Karachi (PS-128), said sources in the party.

While most of the party leaders had been declared ‘proscribed persons’ under the Fourth Schedule of Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), the law doesn’t restrict such persons from contesting elections.

The PRP is at serial number 53 on the list of parties registered with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). Interestingly, the name of its president has been mentioned as Mohammad Ibrahim Qasmi, a resident of Mohallah Farooq-i-Azam, Landi Arbab, Peshawar.

The other proscribed party, Tehreek-i-Jafria Pakistan, too, is registered with the ECP, at serial number 16, by the name of Islami Tehreek Pakistan (ITP). Syed Sajid Naqvi, a resident of Satellite Town, Rawalpindi, is its president.

Under its current political strategy, the proscribed ASWJ may attempt to establish an electoral alliance such as the Maulana Samiul Haq-led Muttahida Deeni Mahaz which had been formed in 2013.

As the JUI-S has decided to maintain its political affiliation with the ruling party in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, JUI-S chief Maulana Samiul Haq in a recent meeting with Mr Ludhianvi regretted over the possibility of any other electoral alliance in the upcoming general elections. “We are having seat adjustments with the PTI,” said JUI-S spokesman Maulana Yousuf Shah.

“Besides, there will be an alliance with the Jamiat Ulema-i-Pakistan (JUP) faction led by Sahibzada Abul Khair Mohammed Zubair, mainly for seats outside the KP,” he added. With the presence of JUP — a strong Barelvi group — in the proposed alliance, the chances of ASWJ becoming part of it are slim.

Besides, differences emerged between the PML-N and ASWJ, with the ruling party getting closer to the Pirs and various Barelvi factions more than ever after the appearance of Allama Khadim Rizvi on the political scene as he has been threatening the Punjab and federal governments.

The support of Barelvi factions was witnessed in the recent Lodhran by-elections.

“We have only been defamed for our bondage with Shahbaz Sharif or Rana Sanaullah. They have done nothing for us. But they always came forward whenever they needed votes or anything else. This time we will contest against them [the PML-N] – and alone,” said Allama Ludhianvi.

While the group has been struggling to maintain its identity in the recent past mainly after the enactment of National Action Plan, its leadership has been successful in organising the party under a disciplined command while remaining under the radar of the authorities.

Published in Dawn, March 12th, 2018