Frontline Pakistan : The Struggle With Militant Islam - Arz-e-Pak

The Siege Within
also helped the MMA to win votes in the western Balochistan province,
where it shared power with a pro-military coalition.
The resurgence of radical Islamists portended ill for a nation in
the midst of a war against Islamic militancy, threatening its political,
cultural and social stability. The installation of a conservative Islamic
government in the two border provinces, which had turned into
sanctuaries for the Taliban and al-Qaeda remnants fleeing from
Afghanistan, caused great concern to the United States. The MMA was
closely linked with the Taliban and its rise to power fuelled insurgency
in Afghanistan. There was a marked increase in attacks on US forces
and their Afghan allies by the Taliban, who then fled back to the
Pakistani Pashtun tribal areas. US military officials had repeatedly
threatened hot pursuit of the Taliban into Pakistan.
Pakistan’s Pashtun populated areas in the North West Frontier
Province and Balochistan are contiguous with the Pashto-speaking
region of Southern Afghanistan. That proximity has historically shaped
the region and resulted in cross-border kin and group ties. This
cross-border ethnic bond had played a significant role in Pakistan’s
involvement, first in running covert operations against the Soviet forces
and, later, helping the predominant Pashtun Taliban movement. The
entire top leadership of the MMA was Pashtun and hence had strong
cross-border associations. The MMA’s electoral success also carried
long-term political implications at home as the battle for the very soul
of Pakistan intensified.
It was the first time in Pakistan’s political history that the
mainstream Islamic parties, representing different Islamic sects, had
come together. The MMA had grown out of an alliance of religious
and jihadist groups that took shape following the events of 11
September and the subsequent US military campaign in Afghanistan.
Initially, some three dozen Islamic groups were united under the
banner of the Defence of Afghanistan Council to show solidarity
with the Taliban regime and Osama bin Laden. It was later renamed
the Defence of Afghanistan and Pakistan Council to oppose the
US military action in Afghanistan. The council could not do much
more than organize anti-US and anti-Musharraf demonstrations. The
routing of the Taliban regime came as a serious blow to the Pakistani
Islamic movement. Demoralization set in when a US-supported
government was installed in Kabul, forcing bin Laden and his men
to flee for their lives. As the elections approached, six of Pakistan’s
most powerful parties, including Jamaat-i-Islami, Jamiat Ulema Islam
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