ISAS Briefs

It is important to note that the Islamic parties in Pakistan, unlike their mainstream moderate counterparts, are less prone to personality cult and are largely driven by ideology, though personalities do play an important role in ideological steering. They act as centripetal forces by monopolising Islam. Traditionally, there have been two types of Islamic organisations in Pakistan: one, participating in parliamentary politics and, the other, limited to socio-spiritual matters. However, a third type that has emerged is the violence-prone of Jihadi and sectarian outfits. These are a by-product of the Afghanistan Jihad. Nevertheless, all three are interlinked with each other in one way or another. This brief is confined to the two main parliamentary Islamic parties in Pakistan; Jama'at-e-Islami [Society for Muslim] (JI) and Jamiat-Ulema-e-Islam [Council of Islamic Scholars] (JUI).