Asif MahmoodThere is no denying the importance of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam as a political party, nor can Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s democratic struggle be dismissed. Yet the fact remains that JUI has also proved to be a vehicle for bringing family members to positions of power. It is, prima facie, a family fiefdom. JUI-F: Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Family).Even Maulana’s political opponents often fall silent out of respect for him. But is it not a fact that democracy is nowhere to be seen within his party, and that its leadership is firmly in the grip of dynastic politics? When eminent religious scholars such as Maulana Sherani raised questions, they were shown the door.Has anyone in the party ever dared to ask why nepotism prevails in the distribution of election tickets?Distinguished religious scholars kept leaving the party after decades of association, while Maulana managed to get his own samdhi, Haji Ghulam Ali, appointed governor.Haji Ghulam Ali is Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s “samdhi”, the father of his son-in-law. Before becoming governor, Haji Sahib had also served as the district nazim of Peshawar. And within a year of leaving the governor’s office, he was made a senator. In other words, he was the samdhi, the governor, the senator and the nazim of Peshawar.When it came to choosing the mayor of Peshawar, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam could not find a religious scholar for the job. Instead, the responsibility was entrusted to a young man named Zubair Ali, the son of Haji Ghulam Ali and the brother of Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s son-in-law.One of Maulana’s brothers is Maulana Ata-ur-Rehman, who is a member of the Senate. In other words, he is a senator. He also carries the additional responsibility of serving as JUI’s provincial vice-president in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. During the party’s internal elections, he even served as the election commissioner for the same province.During the PPP government, Maulana Ata-ur-Rehman also served as federal minister for tourism. He has been elected to the National Assembly twice. In 2013, when Maulana Fazlur Rehman vacated an additional seat he had won, he fielded none other than his own brother, Maulana Ata-ur-Rehman, in the by-election.Maulana’s second brother is named Lutaf-ur-Rehman. When the question of awarding a provincial assembly ticket from Dera Ismail Khan arose,........

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