SAMI ul-HAQ and FAZLUR RAHMAN
Not all Islamic extremists are fans of Sami ul-Haq.
For example, his political wing, known as Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (S), recently pulled out of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal, a six-party Islamist coalition, complaining that two other members were dominating the group’s affairs.
And the man who was once his best friend, Maulana Fazlur Rahman, the firebrand leader of a party called the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F), has become his chief rival.
The two grew up together, and Mr. Rahman is also a graduate of Haqqania. His group has its stronghold in the southern part of the North West Frontier Province and neighbouring Baluchistan, where many of his students and supporters are also known to have slipped across the border to wage jihad.
He and Mr. ul-Haq disagree on many national issues, but not when it comes to Afghanistan. There they are joined at the hip.
“They can’t stand each other,” Pakistani journalist Ahmed Rashid says. “But they would both be giving their total and full support to the Taliban. They, of course, work together. They have always done that.”
The master of Haqqania agrees.
Despite the divide, he says, “Fazlur Rahman was a graduate of this school. He spent nine years here. When we meet, we meet very well.”
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