Alliance Politics in Pakistan: The Rise and Role of the Islami Jamhoori Ittehad (1988–1990)

Abstract

This study investigates the emergence, evolution, and political significance of the Islami Jamhoori Ittehad (IJI) during the critical transition period of 1988–1990 in Pakistan. Formed in the aftermath of General Zia-ul-Haq’s death, the IJI represented a broad coalition of right-wing, conservative, religious, and breakaway political factions including various groups of the Pakistan Muslim League, Jamiat Ahl-e-Hadith (Lakhvi Group), Jamiatul Mashaikh Pakistan, Nizam-e-Mustafa groups, and other like-minded organizations. Despite their diverse ideological orientations and organizational structures, these parties converged on the shared objective of countering the growing influence of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) in the first post-Zia elections. The study reveals that alliance formation within the IJI was shaped by a combination of political uncertainty, fear of a divided mandate, internal leadership rivalries, and the strategic intervention of state institutions seeking to engineer a competitive alternative to the PPP. Through an analysis of its internal negotiations, ideological motivations, and electoral strategies, the research demonstrates how the IJI functioned as both a political coalition and an instrument of structured opposition. Although inherently fragile due to competing ambitions and ideological contradictions, the IJI played a decisive role in shaping the electoral landscape of 1988 and set the stage for Nawaz Sharif’s rise as a central political figure. The findings highlight that the IJI’s formation reflected broader patterns of coalition politics in Pakistan, where temporary alliances emerge as strategic responses to institutional imbalance, weak party structures, and shifting civil–military relations, ultimately leaving a lasting imprint on the country’s democratic trajectory.