ISLAMABAD, Aug 15: Fourteen political parties have their heads, who were elected “un-opposed” after the conditionality of inner-party democracy, thrust upon them through the Political Parties Order 2002, a report said.

The report on the state of political parties was launched by the Liberal Forum Pakistan on Tuesday. It is based on a countrywide survey of the parties, which had the opportunity to win seats in representative institutions — the parties which contested 1988, 1990, 1993 and 1997 general elections in at least five constituencies, and those which were created after the 1997 election.

The findings of the report are based on a survey of selected political parties including Pakistan People’s Party, Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid-i-Azam), Pakistan Muslim League (Junejo), Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf, Qaumi Jamhoori Party, Awami Qiadat Party (didn’t respond), Pakistan People’s Party (Shaheed Bhutto Group), Muttahida Qaumi Movement, Jamiat-i-Ulema-i-Pakistan (didn’t respond), National People’s Party, Pakistan Muslim League (Functional), Sindh Democratic Alliance, Sindh National Front, Awami Tehrik, Pakistan Millat Party, Pakistan Awami Tehrik, Jamaat-i- Islami Pakistan, Pakistan Democratic Party, Jamiaat-i-Ulema-i-Islam (Fazlur Rehman), Jamiaat-i-Ulema-i-Islam (Samiul Haq), Awami National Party, National Awami Party, Pakistan Awami Party, Balochistan National Party, Jamhoori Wattan Party, Balochistan National Movement (Dr. Hayee group) and Pakhtoon Khawa Mili Awami Party (didn’t respond).

The report said despite the ritual of intra-party elections, most of the parties had retained their old leadership, electing the leaders “un-opposed”. In order to accommodate other heavy weights, the parties have been creative to add other top offices like Quaid, Rehbar, chief organizer, chief coordinator etc., besides the formal head of the party.

The report said only Awami National Party and couple of religious political parties refused to hold fresh elections. These parties maintained that their incumbent office bearers had already been already elected through formal elections within the party.

In terms of professional background, the report said, 11 parties were headed by leaders who were either landlords or were associated with agriculture sector. These include Benazir Bhutto, Asfandyar Wali, Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan, Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi, Ghinwa Bhutto, Fanoos Gujar, Pir Sahib Pagara, Mumtaz Ali Bhutto, Akbar Khan Bugti, Akhtar Mengal and Hamid Nasir Chatta.

Four parties, all with religious orientation, are headed by educationists: Qazi Hussain Ahmad, Dr. Tahirul Qadri, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Maulana Samiul Haq.

The leaders of two political parties have an industrial background: Mian Shahbaz Sharif, Mian Mohammad Azhar. Two party leaders, the report said, were former civil servants: Farooq Leghari, Imtiaz Sheikh. Two leaders are doctors: Dr. Abdul Hayee, Dr. Imran Farooq.

Rest of the parties, the report said, were headed by a retired air marshal, Asghar Khan; a cricketer, Imran Khan; a journalist, Ajmal Khattak; and a lawyer, Rasul Bux Palijo.

Giving a province-wise breakdown of the party heads, the report said eight were from Sindh — Benazir Bhutto, Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi, Rasul Bux Palijo, Ghinwa Bhutto, Pir Sahib Pagara, Mumtaz Bhutto, Imtiaz Sheikh and Dr. Imran Farooq. Seven were from Punjab — Shahbaz Sharif, Mian Azhar, Nawabzada Nasrullah, Farooq Leghari, Imran Khan, Dr. Tahirul Qadri, Hamid Nasir Chatta. Similarly, seven were from the NWFP — Asfandyar Wali, Ajmal Khattak, Air Marshal Asghar Khan, Qazi Hussain Ahmad, Maulana Samiul Haq, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Fanoos Gujar. Three were from Balochistan — Akbar Khan Bugti, Akhtar Mengal and Dr. Abdul Hayee.

Most of the leaders of the mainstream parties, the report said, were from Punjab, followed by the NWFP. The second most important office in the political parties remain that of the general-secretary and the situation there is not different as well, except Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan’s PDP, whose post of secretary general is lying vacant, the report said.

The report said the blatant confession of reality in the electronic text of the Political Parties Order 2002 — posted on National Reconstruction Bureau’s (NRB) website till August 8, which said: “Whereas it is expedient to provide for “deformation” and regulation of political parties,” — had yielded its dividend within five weeks.

It said in the name of intra-party elections, country’s two mainstream parties stood deformed. The Pakistan People’s Party had to add an extra “P” for parliamentarian in its nomenclature, while retaining the non-registered party headed by Benazir Bhutto. The Pakistan Muslim League-N replaced former prime minister Nawaz Sharif with his younger brother, Mian Shahbaz Sharif, as the new party president, it added.

The report said the worst victim of PPO 2002 became the Pakistan Muslim League-Q, which, despite the impression of being the so-called Kings Party, had to experience more factionalism, adding yet another faction to the existing club of over a dozen Muslim Leagues.

Another interesting but less noticed development in the wake of these intra-party elections was un-opposed election of the chairman of Tehrik-i-Istaqlal, that had become a sick political unit after Air Marshal Asghar Khan (retired) left it to support his son, late Omar Asghar Khan, in forming a new party — Qaumi Jamhoree Party. Qaiser Ahmad Sheikh, former member of the National Assembly from Chaniot (Jhang), had been aspiring for the last three years to cobble-up the party of businessmen, but at the end of the day, he was able to assume the leadership of Tehrik-i-Istaqlal, the report said.

About membership base of the political parties, the report said out of 25 political parties, that responded to the questionnaire, only 14 were able to give approximate figures about their membership.

According to the figures claimed, Jamaat-i-Islami had 16,000 full members and an additional 4.8 million proclaimed supporters, making it the largest party in terms of organized membership. The party does not charge any formal membership fee.