Ice melts between JUI-F, JI

ISLAMABAD - The two major components of erstwhile religious alliance Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal, JUI-F and JI, which have been at loggerhead for the last one and half years have started contacts to revive MMA or form a fresh larger coalition of religious parties in the country. The sources in both parties told TheNation that top brass of JUI-F and JI might meet soon to hold decisive talks on the future role of religious forces in the country. JUI-F Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has also asked Maulana Samiul Haq to play his role for the revival of MMA or the formation of new religious front and convince JI to shed its anger towards JUI-F, said the sources. JUI-S Chief Maulana Samiul Haq while talking to TheNation said that Fazl had talked to him on the issues of ongoing military operation in Swat and governments intention to take religious seminaries under its control. He said that all political and religious parties which were opposing the military operation would be united on a single platform to safeguard national interests. A negative propaganda is being run against religious seminaries and no one will be allowed to cast an evil eye on the religious seminaries, the JUI-S Chief said angrily. He said that religious parties and Imran Khans Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf would be taken on board to make a joint strategy against military operation. Naib Ameer JI Liaqat Baloch said that the chances of MMA revival were bleak but the religious parties on their unanimous ideological points could draw joint strategy to safeguard countrys interests. JUI-F is standing with the government while another component of MMA, Markazi Jamiat Ahl-e-Hadith, is loyal to PML-N, and in these conditions it is really hard to follow the charter of MMA in true letter and spirit, he noted. He said that secular circles of the country were forwarding the enlightened moderation theory of former president Pervez Musharraf, adding, It is the joint responsibility of all religious parties to save countrys ideological base. APP adds: Secretary General Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F) Senator Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri Monday said that alliance of religious parties could play an effective role in resolving national issues and steer the country out of prevailing crises. He appreciated JIs proposal for the revival of MMA and informed that JUI-F was already trying to revive the alliance of religious parties of the country. He pointed out that all religious parties of the country had almost similar views on national issue including Swat. He was of the view that through a single platform, the religious parties could play more effective role to resolve national issues like Swat and Balochistan. Haideri lauded the efforts of Jamiat Ulema Pakistan to convene the meeting of all religious parties of the country in Lahore on national issues and observed that the partys efforts would prove fruitful for grand alliance of religious parties. He said that JI was one of the major religious parties of the country, adding that JUI-F would soon invite the leadership of JI to participate in religious alliance. Haideri said that the demand of Sufi Muhammad for Nizam-e-Adl was right, but he opposed the way of implementation of the system and described it as anti-Islam, adding that Islam doesnt allow any individual to implement laws by use of force.