Following the release of Asif Zardari and the heating up of the political situation, two offices belonging to the Jamaat I Islami and the Sunni Tehreek were set on fire by unidentified men in the run up to the deadline given by the MMA to President General Pervez Musharraf to shed his uniform before December 31, 2004.
| "Hurrah! Zardari's sprung! Let's burn down Qazi's house!" |
While Mr Zardari's release and his visit to rural Sindh has instilled new vigour to the demoralized workers of the PPP-P, it is the uniform issue which is set to provoke political tension between General Musharraf's allies on one side and the MMA plus the main opposition Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD)...The crucial phase, say pundits, will come after December 19, when MMA will hold its last public meeting in Liaquat Bagh, Rawalpindi, and announce plans for street agitation which are expected to include more riots public rallies, street demonstrations and wheel jam strikes. It is not beyond the realm of the improbable that mass resignations from the national assembly could be followed by dissolution of the NWFP provincial assembly (which is controlled by the MMA) and the MMA's withdrawal of support to the Baluchistan government, the whole protest movement culminating in a noisy and agitated Long March to Islamabad.
| ... chanting the while "Only the MMA can bring stability to Pakland!" |
In this context, it may be worthwhile to note the real strength of the MMA to determine whether or not it will be able to sustain the protest movement for any significant period of time. The MMA's main strength rests on the organizing ability of the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) and the mass bass of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) in the two border provinces. The JUI (F) lays claim to tens of thousands of madrassa students. But given the failure of the MMA to field a strong protest movement after the US bombing of Afghanistan in 2001 and 2002, and given its past record of never taking on the military in Pakistan, it is anybody's guess whether the JUI will fully commit its madrassa troops against General Musharraf...
| They won't if Fazl stays bought... |
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