LAHORE - At a time when efforts are under way to unite country’s religious parties, the JUP-Imam Noorani has questioned credentials of the Jamaat-e-Islami becoming part of the proposed alliance.

Addressing a press conference in Lahore on Monday, Shah Awais Noorani, secretary general of Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan-Imam Noorani, criticised the politics of Syed Abul A'la Maududi’s party, saying it was pursuing political goals, which were difficult to fathom for people.

“Maulana Fazlur Rehman [JUI-F chief] is open supporter of PML-N but the politics of Jamaat-e-Islami is difficult to understand. JI is ally of PTI in KPK, PML-N in AJK and PPP in Karachi [Sindh],” said the son of late Shah Ahmad Noorani, former head of the JUP, which split into JUP-Imam Noorani, JUP-Noorani and JUP after his death in 2003.

Qari Zawar Bahadur is the latest “rebel” of the JUP-Imam Noorani who, as party’s Punjab chapter president, formed his own faction of the JUP around three months earlier.

The JUP, a representative of country’s popular Brelvi school of thought, was founded in 1948 by Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Hazarvi and Allama Abul Hasnaat Sayyed Ahmad Qaadri. The All India Sunni Conference converted itself as Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan at Pakistan Level in March 1948. Maulana Hazarvi headed the party till 1970, and was succeeded by Abdul Hamid Qadri Badayuni, Khwaja Qamar-ul-Din Sialvi, Syed Faiz-ul-Hassan Shah, Abdul Sattar Khan Niazi and Shah Ahmad Noorani Siddiqi.

Shah Awais is considered close to Maulana Fazlur Rehman and he lets no occasion go without criticising the JI. JUP-Noorani led by Sahibzada Abual Khair Zubair and JUP-Zawar are close to Jamaat-e-Islami. Some religious leaders, including JUP-Imam Noorani President Pir Ijaz Hashmi, say the political interests of JI and JUI-F are main hurdles in unity of country’s religious parties.

The JUI-F recently hosted a meeting of different parties in Islamabad to form a new religious alliance or revive Muttahida Majlise Amal (MMA) before the next general elections. The MMA was a six-party (JUI-F, JUI-S, JI, JUP, Jamiat Ahle Hadith and Tehreek Nifaze Fiqa Jafria) alliance formed during Pervez Musharraf’s rule and dissolved in 2007.

Shah Awais was talking to the media after a meeting at the residence of Pir Ijaz Hashmi (JUP-Imam Noorani president) where main leaders of JUP-Noorani joined JUP-Imam Noorani. He said the decision to revive the MMA was made after his repeated meetings with Maulana Fazl and that the JI initially was not part of the deliberations. If revived, he said, the MMA would contest the election on old manifesto and election symbol (book).

JUP-Noorani’s secretary general Pir Mahfooz Mashhadi, information secretary Maulana Muhammad Khan Leghari and senior leader Akram Shah joined the JUP-Imam Noorani.

Pir Ijaz Hashmi, welcoming the leaders to the party fold, said it was a good omen that senior leaders were coming back to their “mother organisation”. He invited Sahibzada Abual Khair and Qari Zawar to join the party.