against the Pakistan Muslim League. Overall in the 1990s, the Islamic influence in the politics was very limited in the public. After the deadly terrorist attacks on the United States in September 2001, the religious extremism began to grow in a military response to these attacks. The Islamic political parties formed the think tank, known as Pakistan-Afghanistan Defense Council (later known as Pakistan Defence Council), yet the formation of the MMA in 2001 was the first time such a coalition entered the electoral process. Despite its huge mass, populism, and support, the MMA alliance only retained 63 seats whilst the PPP retained 94 seats and the President Musharraf's PML(Q) securing 124 seats during the general elections held in 2002. The alliance comprised the following notable groups: Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan (JUP): A traditional Sunni-(Aqeeda-e-Sawad-e-Azam of Aaulia, Sufia) political party which is popular with traditional and folk Muslims in rural areas of Sindh and Punjab. They chant the slogan as the 'love slogan' of their party. The Jamiat Ulama-e-Islam: The party is led by Fazal-ur-Rehman who became widely known for his vocal and strong support for Benazir Bhutto and the Pakistan Peoples Party in the 1990s. The JUI(F) was politically influential, got more hardlines, and had traditional stream of thinking – with popular appeal amongst clerics, Pashtuns and Baloch of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. The JUI(F) later became an integral part in PPP led government formed in 2008–13. Jamat-e-Islami (JI): An Islamist party and follower of Abul A'la Maududi, a Pan-Islamist party leader, originating from rural areas of Karachi. Despite its hardliners, its large portion remaining active in the MMA, the party remained less influential in alliance's political shifts. Tehrik-e-Jafaria Pakistan (TJP): The party is led by Syed Sajid Ali Naqvi. The Shiite and ultraconservative party that played a crucial role in uniting the Shia masses to offer support to MMA. Its political influence was also less in the alliance's political shifts. Historically, it has foreign support and ties with Iran. Jamiat Ahle Hadith (JAH): Although a missionary political party, the JAH derives itself from the Ahl-al-Hadith movement. Rise to power The success of MMA can be attributed to the context-specific, political environment of the 2002 elections, due to the region's geopolitical significance following the Afghanistan invasion, military-civilian relations, and the threat of religion under secular authoritarian rule. Leading up to the 2002 elections, the PPP and the PML-N were severely handicapped as