| Description | Islamic fundamentalist party influenced by the Sharia-based reign of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. Party was founded in British India in 1941 by Islamic jurist and scholar Sayyid Abul A'la Maudud, and re-established in 1947 as the Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan, after Pakistan became independent on August 14, 1947. Party takes Pakistan-supremacist positions, and fought against Bangladeshi independence during the Bangladesh Liberation War and Bengali nationalist movements elsewhere, ultimately mending fences with the new nation in 1975. Party took an active part in the Kashmir issue early on, establishing two branches of the party in Srinigar, Jammu and Kashmir, in 1953 and 1974. Party has had de minimus success legislatively, however, in spite of numerous branches established throughout Pakistan (party holds just one seat in the Punjab Assembly and one seat each in the Senate and National Assembly). Party's Ameer (leader) since March 30, 2014 is Sirajul Haq [جماعتِ اسلامی; Islamic Congress]. |
