Islamic Democratic Alliance

…Punjab was won by the Islamic Democratic Alliance (Islami Jamhoori Itihad [IJI]), led by Nawaz Sharif, a Punjabi businessman, who became the province’s chief minister.

…most important component of the Islamic Democratic Alliance, which took over Punjab’s administration in 1988. Since then, Muslim League factions have been associated with powerful personalities (e.g., Nawaz Sharif and Pervez Musharraf).

Under the Islamic Democratic Alliance, the Punjab government continued to back the interests of the landed aristocracy, while the national government—headed by Benazir Bhutto, with a more liberal bent and a wider base of support—espoused the economic and social interests of urban groups and non-propertied classes. The…