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Politics : America Under Siege: The End of Innocence -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: CountofMoneyCristo who wrote (12485)	1/2/2002 1:21:59 PM
From: lorne	Respond to of 27764

Pakistani Islamic Parties, Including Pro-Taliban Groups, Form Alliance to Run for Office By Munir Ahmad Associated Press Writer Published: Jan 2, 2002 ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) - Trying to enforce Islamic laws by getting their members elected to office, Pakistan's six religious parties said Wednesday they have forged a political alliance. The United Religious Front includes three major pro-Taliban groups - the two factions of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam and the Jamaat-e-Islami - that staged violent protests against the government's decision to side with the United States in the international anti-terrorism coalition. The other three groups are the small Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan, the Tehrik-e-Jafria and Jamiat Ahl-e-Hadis. "We will try to win elections with the support of other like-minded parties," Maulana Shah Ahmad Noorani, chief of the alliance, said at a news conference. If the alliance does well in elections later this year, Noorani said, it will change Pakistan's foreign policy to make it more friendly to Islamic countries and eject any U.S. forces from Pakistani air bases. It is not the first time religious groups have formed an electoral alliance, but they have performed poorly in votes. The two factions of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam won only one seat out of 230 in the last elections held in 1997. The party's leaders, Maulana Fazal ur-Rehman and Samiul Haq, also lost their seats in that vote. Tehrik-e-Jafria is a group from the minority Shiite Muslim sect, while the rest of the groups represent various Sunni Muslim factions. President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, who seized power in a bloodless military coup in October 1999 and has headed a military government ever since, has promised elections in October. ap.tbo.com