JI shortlists 3 candidates for office of president

PESHAWAR: The Jamaat-e-Islami has formally launched the process for election of its new ameer for five-year term as the central Shura has already shortlisted three names for the office.

The process was formally started in the meeting of the 50-member Shura, or consultative body, on January 4-5, with the incumbent chief Sirajul Haq in the chair. The meeting accorded approval to the election committee for the process under the chairmanship of Asadullah Bhutto, central vice-president of the party.

Balloting was held for the selection of the three names. Some of the members were absent from the Shura meeting and postal ballots were sent to them to seek their consent, a senior member of the party told The News.

The ballots were returned on January 15 and the three names were announced the same day. They include the current ameer Sirajul Haq, central general secretary Liaqat Baloch and deputy chief Prof Mohammad Ibrahim Khan.

As per the JI constitution, all the full members of the party totalling around 42,000 are contestants and voters for the office at the same time. However, the three names are suggested by the Shura for the convenience of the common members. Normally the members cast their ballots in favour of the three chosen candidates.

The polling is held through postal ballots. The ballots would be issued to members on February 2. All the members would be required to send back the ballots by March 15 and the result would be declared on March 20, said Abdul Wasi, provincial general secretary of the party, who also serves as provincial head of the election process. The Jamaat-e-Islami is considered one of the most organised and democratic political parties in the country because it regularly holds elections for all the offices. However, questions are always raised over the process of party polls. According to the party constitution and in keeping with its rich traditions, no party member can be the aspirant for any position or run an election campaign.

The party members too cannot run a campaign in support of another member. The party members remain very careful in discussing matters pertaining to the election of the office-bearers and Shura members. But during the past few years it has been observed that active lobbying is done in a secret and tactical manner.

This year a proper campaign is being run on social media sites. Even some senior members of the party have openly expressed reservations over the election process in the mainstream media. The party leaders are of the opinion that the social media campaign was mainly launched by non-members and the party cannot take disciplinary action against them.

A JI office-bearer said the members who have taken part in such campaign have been served show-cause notices by the party.

The most common reservation being seen on social media is about the selection of the three names. A good number of JI’s like-minded social media users are of the opinion that the name of Hafiz Naeemur Rahman, current Karachi president of the party, should have been among the three names. Others express their opinion in favour of Senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa president of the party.

By mentioning the names of these two leaders, they seem to be expressing their criticism of the incumbent party head, Sirajul Haq, who is most likely to retain the office. They speak categorically against the policies of Sirajul Haq as they believe this caused the party’s humiliating defeat in the 2018 general election and consequently made it ‘irrelevant’ in national politics.

Another perception, which is fast making headway into the inner circles of the party, is that the elections for JI leadership that are otherwise considered fair and transparent are also deeply influenced by powerful invisible forces in the party.

However, certain senior members of the party are of the opinion that it was impossible for anyone to influence the central Shura while selecting the three names. Still they endorse the view that sometimes a situation is deliberately created and flared up to mould the opinion of the JI members.

It is believed that a similar situation was created last time against Sayyed Munawwar Hassan, the former JI head, and in support of Sirajul Haq, who replaced him.

As far as the three shortlisted candidates are concerned, Senator Sirajul Haq has been leading the party since 2014. He served as JI provincial head in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa several times and remained central deputy chief of the party.

He twice won election for the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly from his native Lower Dir district and served as provincial finance minister both the times.

Sirajul Haq had joined the JI in his student life. During his student life, he remained an active member of Islami Jamiat-i-Talaba and was elected its central chief for three consecutive years from 1989-1991. Upon his election as central chief of the party in 2014, he vacated his provincial assembly seat and was elected as member of the Senate of Pakistan. He lost the National Assembly seat from his home constituency against Muhammad Bashir Khan of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf in the 2018 polls.

Liaqat Baloch is a familiar face in JI circles as well as in the national politics. He has been holding the office of the central secretary general of the party since 2008. His affiliation with the JI is also life-long as he too joined the party as a student. He also served as central chief of Islami Jamiat-i-Talaba for two terms. He got elected as member of the National Assembly twice from Lahore.

Prof Mohammad Ibrahim Khan, the third candidate, is presently the central deputy chief of the party. He has served as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa president of the party several times. He also remained member of Islami Jamiat-i-Talaba. After completion of his master’s in journalism from Gomal University, Dera Ismail Khan, he had joined the same university as lecturer. In electoral politics though, he contested election for the assembly from his native Bannu a number of times and lost.