Ideologies of Pakistani political parties

[Luffy 500]

Now i know Pakistanis like other subcontinental people hate their respective political parties and politicians and indeed ideology take a back seat for political parties when it comes to their interests. But whether you accept it or not human beings do things based on conviction and beliefs. SO the people who do politics do have certain conviction and beliefs based on which they start their political career. I believe PAK is no exception. Now what are the ideological divides of pakistani political forces? Like :

Which is the main center/center-right/conservative politcal party?

Which is the largest and main Islamic party?

Which one represent the secular liberal forces in Pak?

Are there any big tent parties?

Which party has the most street power in PAK?

How strong are the regional parties in PAK?

Are there any non-dynastic party in PAK?

How strong are the feudals in pakistan?


Off course while making these assumption it should be noted that politics is not black and white and is filled with nuances and grey areas.

I see PDF members bickering all day long on politics. And there seem to be a strong animosity between political parties and their supporters. As an outsider and based on what i read about Pakistan and learned about it over the last few years on PDF , it seems PTI and PMLn are your 2 main parties. Both seem to be big tent parties in reality (i.e they have people of various beliefs with diverse view-points in their ranks) even though they claim to hold certain ideology. Your PML-N seem to be espousing secular liberal beliefs now a days (NS recently talked about making PAK liberal). What is the belief of Imran khan? Is PTI pro-secular or pro-islamic in its outlook? PPP seem to be staunch secular party along with MQM. JeI seem to be a major Islamic party in PAK but it is weaker than BD JeI IMO. In BD JeI is the largest islamic party with 0 competition. People say it has got a bright future if it can play its cards right. What is the position of PAK JeI?



What do PDF members think about their political parties?

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

@Akheilos @Zarvan @Horus @WAJsal @Malik Abdullah @jamal18 @django @dsr478 @Djinn @Mrc @lastofthepatriots @Apprentice @Psychic @MastanKhan @airmarshal @TMA @Indus Falcon @war&peace @Sparkle229 @Samlee @LeGenD @Kaptaan @Zibago @Aslan @Tipu7 @Mav3rick

 

[Winchester]

Which is the main center/center-right/conservative politcal party?

All major political parties in Pakistan are center-right

Which is the largest and main Islamic party?

Toss up btw JI and JUI

Which one represent the secular liberal forces in Pak?

None

Which party has the most street power in PAK?

No one really.....street politics won't work here anymore.

How strong are the regional parties in PAK?

Strong in Balochistan

Partially strong in KPK, Sindh and Karachi

Are there any non-dynastic party in PAK?

PTI and JI

How strong are the feudals in pakistan?

Completely own rural Sindh and Balochistan

Punjab has seen a steeply declining influence due to rapid urbanization

KPK doesn't have a feudal system

.
.
.

All in all there aren't any major differences ideologically btw PML, PTI and PPP

There wouldn't be any radical shift if any of them comes to power

 

[war&peace]

There are only two parties in Pakistan; PTI and the Rest. The Rest is junta of corrupt, uneducated, uncultured zombies whose main goal is to remain in power and make the money. PTI is currently in opposition and represents the majority of the lower to upper-middle class who are educated and want to see the status quo destroyed.

 

[Danish saleem]

There are only two parties in Pakistan PTI and the Rest. The Rest is junta of corrupt, uneducated, uncultured zombies whose main goal is to remain in power and make the money. PTI is currently in opposition and represents the majority of the lower to upper-middle class who are educated and want to see the status quo destroyed.

all the corrupt people when ever join PTI, then those same people become angel in laundry of PTI.
PPP is bad , but its punjab wing cheif join PTI then he is Angel.
Joke of century.

 

[Zibago]

All corruption by pmln is ok if someone points it out he yahood and isi agent
You have no right to question them about selling an entire solar park to a relative nor you can criticize them for twosting data to show 3.1% growth as 4.7% nor you can criticize them for negativegrowth in agri sector without being labelled isi agent

 

[Sparkle229]

In my opinion PMLN is a big supporter of secularization and it is also one of the most corrupt parties in Pakistan and PTI on the other hand is good party in the leadership of Imran khan there are two major Islamic parties Jui and JI

 

[Yeezy]

Which is the main center/center-right/conservative politcal party?

Left: MQM
Centre: PPP, PTI
Right: PML-N, JI

Which is the largest and main Islamic party?

Jamaat e Islami

Which one represent the secular liberal forces in Pak?

MQM's track record has shown that they are the biggest supporters of secularism and liberalism. PPP claims to be secular but has never done anything close to show that they are secular.

Are there any big tent parties?

Maybe PTI

How strong are the regional parties in PAK?

All parties basically cater to one region and can be identified as such. PML-N for Punjab, PPP for Sindh, PTI for KP and MQM for Karachi.

Are there any non-dynastic party in PAK?

MQM and PTI

How strong are the feudals in pakistan?

Very strong, both PPP and PML-N are filled with feudals.

 

[raj76]

TBH i dont see true democratic future of pakistan until punjab decides the central government (70-80%+ seats in parliament?). IMO punjab has to be divided so that other states can also play major role in democracy. it is not something new it has been happening in india alot of states have been divided for various reason

 

[Apprentice]

All parties and all Prime Minister in Pakistan are required to swear allegiance to Pakistan's Islamic ideology. Its a constitutional requirement. However PPP is known to have many secularists in its rank but officially they have to adhere to ideology of Pakistan.

However the regionalist parties such s MQM and ANP are known to be strong proponents of secularism ad you will notice that in Pakistan all separatist groups and nationalist/regionalist groups are secular.

PTI was initially a party that appealed to the youth because of its ideas of a progressive Pakistan but it has lost most of its popularity. Its more popular outside of Pakistan than inside Pakistan. I went to Lahore a few years ago and saw that no one liked Imran Khan. People were either fed up of all political parties or they supported Nawaz Sharif and PML-N.

PML-N was originally a conservative party and usually had alliances with JI back in the 90s. In 1999 Nawaz Sharif also tried introducing the Shariat Bill, which would have converted Pakistan into an Islamic state.

Sadly, PML-N is now trying to garner secularist supporters so they are trying to liberalise themselves.

JI (jamaat e Islami) is the largest Islamic political party as well as JUI (Jamiat Ulema Islam). They may not get most votes but they are known to be not corrupt (especialy JI). JI has a clean reputation.

You also have to keep in mind that most Pakistanis don't vote. And those who do are mostly illiterate rural folk who vote for their landlords (who is usually a member of either PML or PPP).

However Karachiites will vote for MQM and Lahoris for PML-N.

Voters vote for someone from their own ethnicity. Kashmiris will vote for Nawaz Sharif and Urdu-speakers for MQM. However back before MQM came into existence, Karachiites and Hyderabadis used to vote for JI because Maududi was a 'Muhajir'.

 

[Airdef95]

How strong are the feudals in pakistan?

They are one of the main reasons behind the failure in the rural areas of Pakistan.
And as far as the political parties are concerned, their only aim is to fulfill their desires irrespective of what consequences it has on the state of Pakistan. Pakistan is the only country in the world where people join politics for money and power. As a nation we are immature, we only care for our personal interests. We have diverse opinions about everything that happens here and most of the opinions are so irrational because we lack knowledge. Hence people follow every "aira ghaira" and such "airay-ghairay log" become powerful. Altaf Hussain, NA, NS are such good examples. These people with their "chailay" are harming the state of Pakistan in the best way they can, they disguise themselves as victims and unfortunately they have the support of the common people because like I said people here are immature.

 

[Hamza913]

I prefer the army to all of the parties.

 

[Jzaib]

all the corrupt people when ever join PTI, then those same people become angel in laundry of PTI.
PPP is bad , but its punjab wing cheif join PTI then he is Angel.
Joke of century.

If these are corrupt people. Government should put them in jail instead of using their media cell to spread propaganda

 

[Luffy 500]

None

But PPP and MQM is openly secular. I see many secularist PDFers being sympathetic to PTI though PTI to me seem like a big tent party and NOT overtly secular. Btw i am very anti-secular so i have my biases.

All in all there aren't any major differences ideologically btw PML, PTI and PPP

There wouldn't be any radical shift if any of them comes to power

That's also my understanding of subcontinental politics.

There are only two parties in Pakistan; PTI and the Rest. The Rest is junta of corrupt, uneducated, uncultured zombies whose main goal is to remain in power and make the money. PTI is currently in opposition and represents the majority of the lower to upper-middle class who are educated and want to see the status quo destroyed.

Lets agree to disagree bro. Don't you think that's a very simplistic narrative of PAK politics?

I prefer the army to all of the parties.

Lets agree to disagree bro. Don't you think that is unsustainable. Army is an institution that is not trained to administer a country IMO.

All parties basically cater to one region and can be identified as such. PML-N for Punjab, PPP for Sindh, PTI for KP and MQM for Karachi.

Which party do you think has the potential and intent to become pan-pakistani? I thought your PTI was pan-pakistani. Btw isn't JeI also pan-pakistani i.e even though they have lesser electoral base , but isn't their base spread out throughout the country?

MQM and PTI

Isn't JeI also non-dynastic. In BD JeI is the only non-dynastic party.

They are one of the main reasons behind the failure in the rural areas of Pakistan.
And as far as the political parties are concerned, their only aim is to fulfill their desires irrespective of what consequences it has on the state of Pakistan. Pakistan is the only country in the world where people join politics for money and power. As a nation we are immature, we only care for our personal interests. We have diverse opinions about everything that happens here and most of the opinions are so irrational because we lack knowledge. Hence people follow every "aira ghaira" and such "airay-ghairay log" become powerful. Altaf Hussain, NA, NS are such good examples. These people with their "chailay" are harming the state of Pakistan in the best way they can, they disguise themselves as victims and unfortunately they have the support of the common people because like I said people here are immature.

Corruption seem to be a serious problem. Also PAK seem to have very poor tax collection capacity and add to that an inefficient red-tape bureaucracy that is the hall mark of south asia. But to me it looks like you guys are making some progress. NS is facing some real heat. And it seems you have somewhat a free media and a vocal opposition that is scrutinizing the ruling party. Your judiciary also seem to fairly independent. I may be wrong though.

All parties and all Prime Minister in Pakistan are required to swear allegiance to Pakistan's Islamic ideology. Its a constitutional requirement. However PPP is known to have many secularists in its rank but officially they have to adhere to ideology of Pakistan.

However the regionalist parties such s MQM and ANP are known to be strong proponents of secularism ad you will notice that in Pakistan all separatist groups and nationalist/regionalist groups are secular.

PTI was initially a party that appealed to the youth because of its ideas of a progressive Pakistan but it has lost most of its popularity. Its more popular outside of Pakistan than inside Pakistan. I went to Lahore a few years ago and saw that no one liked Imran Khan. People were either fed up of all political parties or they supported Nawaz Sharif and PML-N.

PML-N was originally a conservative party and usually had alliances with JI back in the 90s. In 1999 Nawaz Sharif also tried introducing the Shariat Bill, which would have converted Pakistan into an Islamic state.

Sadly, PML-N is now trying to garner secularist supporters so they are trying to liberalise themselves.

JI (jamaat e Islami) is the largest Islamic political party as well as JUI (Jamiat Ulema Islam). They may not get most votes but they are known to be not corrupt (especialy JI). JI has a clean reputation.

You also have to keep in mind that most Pakistanis don't vote. And those who do are mostly illiterate rural folk who vote for their landlords (who is usually a member of either PML or PPP).

However Karachiites will vote for MQM and Lahoris for PML-N.

Voters vote for someone from their own ethnicity. Kashmiris will vote for Nawaz Sharif and Urdu-speakers for MQM. However back before MQM came into existence, Karachiites and Hyderabadis used to vote for JI because Maududi was a 'Muhajir'.

I didn't know that Karachiites used to vote for jeI. Ethnic politics is a serious problem in the muslim world specially in diverse state like PAK. More islamic awarness and education is needed to overcome that problem. No amount of material development and secular education can solve that mindset.


Btw i think the actual electoral support your parties have is not clearly represented due to the electoral system of PAK. And i think religous parties have a greater level of support than is expressed in elections. PAK follows the FPTP (british system) that very unfair IMO and puts minority in position of power. Parties with just 30% of the vote can form gov. Proportional representation formula may strengthen presence of religous parties in PAK parliament. It may also promote governance by consensus rather than majority rule.

 

[war&peace]

Lets agree to disagree bro. Don't you think that's a very simplistic narrative of PAK politics?

Lets agree to disagree .. why do you need all this info?

 

[Luffy 500]

Lets agree to disagree .. why do you need all this info?

Just time pass and also curiosity. I like discussing politics. PAK seem to be progressing to stability unlike BD.