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Maulana Shah Ahmed Noorani Siddiqui (1926-2003) who did not believe in separating religion from politics joined active politics in 1970. His journey from passive to active politics was gradual. Though he started taking part in politics by establishing 'National Guards' in 1940's to further the cause of All India Muslim League of a separate homeland for the Muslims of the Indian Sub-continent, However, soon after the partition, following the footsteps of his father Maulana Shah Abdul Aleem Saddiqui (1892-1955), Maulana Noorani concentrated more on the missionary activities. Along with this he also participated in the Anti-Qadiani Movement in 1953 and later elected as the senior vice president of the Jamiat-i- Ulema-i- Pakistan (JUP) West Pakistan in 1955.After the death of his father in the same year Maulana Noorani took full charge of his father's missionary work abroad (1955-1969) and remained fully committed to it. During this time period he remained unknown in Pakistani politics until, in 1970, he presided over a historical meeting of the leading Ulama and Masha'ikh of Ahl-i-Sunnat wa Jammat held in Darul ulum Hizb-ul-Ahnaf Lahore, which resulted in the unification of various groups of the JUP and gave birth to a 'united' political party of Ahl-i Sunnat. This paper had presented a critical review of Maulana Shah Ahmed Noorani's early political career, showing that how he roused from the office bearer JUP Karachi to the position of JUP parliamentary leader and one of the leading political figures of the country. The paper also focused on his role in the victory of his party in 1970 election, strong opposition of socialism, propagation of Nizam-i-Mustafa, democracy and efforts to keep the country united.
Keywords: Nizam-i-Mustafa, Socialism, Sawad-i Azam, 1970 election, Ahl-i-Sunnat wa Jammat, East-Pakistan, Jamiat-i- Ulema-i-Pakistan
After months of violent agitation against Ayub Khan's regime, the renewal of Martial Law by Gen.Yahya Khan on 25th March 1969 was greeted by most people in both provinces, but in Dhaka there were street demonstrations. Maulana Shah Ahmad Noorani realizing the grave situation particularly in East Pakistan warned Gen.Yahya Khan about the role of M.M.Ahmed (Qadiani by faith & vice chairman of the Planning Commission) in deteriorating the economy of Pakistan which could result in the separation of East Pakistan (Zia-i-Haram,1974).
Soon Yahya Khan announced...