THE RISE OF ISLAMIST PARTIES
MILLI MUSLIM LEAGUE (MML)
Leader: Saifullah Khalid, supported by Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed
Legal status: Banned in Pakistan for its association with Saeed
Election status: Candidates registered under the Allah-hu-Akbar Tehreek are campaigning with Saeed’s image on their posters and election materials.
Candidates: 260 73 for National Assembly and 187 for provincial assemblies
Saeed’s Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) formed MML in August 2017. The UN says the JuD is a front for Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), which India and the US and India blame for the Mumbai attacks
TEHREEKELABAIK PAKISTAN (TLP)
Leader: Khadim Hussain Rizvi
Legal status: Registered with Election Commission
Election status: Candidates contesting under the TLP banner.
Candidates: 566 178 for National Assembly, 388 for provincial assemblies.
The party emerged out of a protest movement in 2016 against the state’s execution of Mumtaz Qadri, the assassin of former Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer, who called for reforming blasphemy laws
AHLESUNNAT WAL JAMAAT (ASWJ)
Leader: Maulana Mohammad Ahmad Ludhianvi
Legal status: Banned for being the political wing of militant group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), which has been allied with al-Qaeda and Islamic State and responsible for the killing of hundreds of Shias
Election status: Candidates are running under the banner Pakistan Rah-e-Haq, or as independents
Candidates: More than 150
ASWJ is another name for the Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP), founded in 1985, which in turn was carved out of pro-Taliban Jamiat-e-Ulema Islam (JUI) party
MUTTAHIDA MAJLISEAMAL (MMA)
Leaders: Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman, Sirajul Haq and Allama Sajid Naqvi
Legal status: Most of the parties in the religious alliance are long-established and legally registered, except for the Tehreek-e-Islami
Election status: Candidates from two major parties and more than a dozen small religious groups are contesting under the MMA alliance
Candidates: 595 191 for National Assembly, 404 for provincial assemblies
The MMA was founded prior to the 2002 general elections, which was conducted under military ruler Gen Pervez Musharraf. It comprised more than two dozen extremist religious parties