WASHINGTON, Oct 20: The political process that Pakistan is going through may lead to the world’s first ever Sunni revolution, argues Prof Philip E.Jones.

The professor, who teaches global security studies at the Aeronautical University, Arizona, sees MMA victory in the 2002 elections as the beginning of a new political trend in Pakistan which could push religious parties on the centre stage as a third political force.

His paper — the Sunni revolution and politics in Pakistan — generated a lively debate at a day-long seminar at Washington’s George Town University on Monday.

The participants were clearly divided into two groups: those who believed that such a revolution was a real possibility and those who thought that some Western scholars were reading too much into MMA success.

The first group included several prominent American and British scholars while the second group was dominated by Pakistani scholars, some of whom had come all the way from Pakistan to attend the seminar.

Prof Jones said that the war in Afghanistan allowed various religious groups in Pakistan to work with each other and narrow their differences.

He said he was aware of the differences that still exist, such as those between Maulana Fazlur Rahman and the scholars of Akora Khatak or those between JUI and Jamaat-i- Islami.

There’s an upward movement, strengthening the power and influence of the ulema, said Prof. Jones.

Prof Jones said he realized “there’s no monolithic kind of Islam in Pakistan. The country is profoundly diverse but a new political category is emerging that can offer a third option.

Ross Masood, former director of the Institute of Strategic Studies, Islamabad, rejected the theory of Sunni revolution saying that MMA’s successes in the previous elections do not necessarily represent a rise in the influence of religious parties.

Nasim Zehra, a Pakistani journalist and now a fellow at the Harvard University Asia Center, pointed out that restrictions placed on the PPP and PML (N) helped the MMA. “So did the government’s decision to accept the sanad of a madressah as equivalent to a bachelor’s degree.”

Mr Masood said that it would be wrong to say that the MMA was replacing PPP or PML (N) as a political force.

The two groups, he said, had retained their vote banks and were still very relevant in Pakistani politics. “It is too early even to suggest that the ulema have become a third political force.”

Prof Weinbaum suggested that even after Gen Zia, the Pakistani establishment has continued to help religious parties. “Marginalizing the main political parties has also helped the MMA. Besides, various political parties have been allowed to maintain their jihadi outfits as well,” he argued.