_____Post Series_____ • Ambush at Takur Ghar Seven U.S. servicemen died on an Afghan ridge in an battle that revealed flaws in the U.S. military operations. • Part 1: Bravery and Breakdowns • Part 2: Ordeal at 10,000 Feet _____News From Afghanistan_____ • An Afghan Province's Wary Welcome for U.S. Forces (The Washington Post, Oct 8, 2002) • Purported Bin Laden Tape Says More Attacks Planned (The Washington Post, Oct 7, 2002) • Nuclear-Free Zone for Central Asia (The Washington Post, Oct 5, 2002) • More News from Afghanistan _____News From Pakistan_____ • Pakistanis View Return To Polls With Cynicism (The Washington Post, Oct 6, 2002) • Binalshibh Said to Provide 'Useful Information' (The Washington Post, Oct 4, 2002) • Gunmen Kill 7 Christians at Karachi Charity (The Washington Post, Sep 26, 2002) • More News from Pakistan E-Mail This Article Printer-Friendly Version Subscribe to The Post

By Sadaqat Jan
Associated Press Writer
Tuesday, October 8, 2002; 4:45 PM

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan –– Running on anti-American sentiment and sympathies for the Taliban, hard-line Islamic parties are fielding hundreds of candidates in hopes of making gains against supporters of President Pervez Musharraf.

Musharraf galvanized conservative Muslims by abandoning the Taliban and joining the U.S.-led coalition after the Sept. 11 attacks, allowing U.S. forces to use bases in Pakistan for operations in Afghanistan.

"The elections are a jihad for us," said Ameer ul-Azeem of the United Action Forum, an alliance of six Muslim parties established this year. "We want to ensure supremacy of Islam and restore true Islamic democracy in Pakistan."

Members of the Action Forum include Pakistan's main Islamic group, Jamaat-e-Islami. Despite being the country's oldest and best-organized Muslim party, Jamaat-e-Islami has fared poorly in recent elections.

Party leaders hope that will change in Thursday's legislative elections. And they say that if elected, Muslim alliance candidates would work to end Pakistan's support for the U.S. war against terror. Musharraf seized power in a 1999 coup, and the balloting is designed to restore the country to civilian rule.

"The people of Pakistan are tired of Musharraf's policies and his tilt to America and the West," said Liaqat Baluch, a Jamaat-e-Islami leader.

Other parties in the alliance include Jamiat-e-Ulema Pakistan and two factions of Jamiat-e-Ulema Islam. Many of their party workers slipped into Afghanistan when the U.S. operation began on Oct. 7, 2001.

The remaining parties in the alliance are Pakistan Tehrik Islami and Jamiat al-e-Hadith.

The alliance also promises to establish an Islamic state in Pakistan, where the Quran, Islam's holy book, would be considered supreme law.

But most analysts say the alliance has little chance of greatly expanding its presence in parliament. Political observers say they expect most voters to support candidates from the two main parties, the Pakistan People's Party and the Pakistan Muslim League.

In an effort to bolster their election chances, the United Action Forum is fielding nearly 700 candidates for parliamentary seats. The alliance also has a total of 328 candidates running for four provincial legislatures.

"We feel our chances are good," Baluch said, insisting support for the alliance has grown recently, particularly in the country's outlying regions. "People have good expectations of us. Conditions are better than before."

Nasim Zehra, a Pakistani political analyst, said rising anti-U.S. sentiment in two remote provinces along the Afghan border could boost the fortunes of some hard-line candidates.

"It is bound to translate into increased election day support for the religious parties," she said.

Sympathies run high in the Northwest Frontier and Baluchistan provinces for Afghanistan's former ruling Taliban. In those provinces, most people share the Taliban's Pashtun ethnicity and puritanical Islamic ideology.