The Jamaat-i-Islami chief seems to be succeeding in his efforts to craft a new role for himself and to give his party a more proactive one at a time when the politics of sit-ins has polarised the national scene.

The meetings Sirajul Haq has been having with a variety of leaders in government and opposition and a review of his speeches would show consistency in rhetoric and policy, with a perceptible distancing from confrontational politics.

The fact that Mr Haq realises that JI policies need to be ‘corrected’ is itself an indication of the pragmatist in him.

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As pursued by two of his predecessors, JI policies tended to show a tilt towards such populism as was permissible within the party’s ideological framework.

The ‘best’ of this populism with an over-emphasis on a display of street power came in the wake of the US-led war on Taliban-controlled Afghanistan when Qazi Hussain Ahmad was the chief.

This West-specific xenophobia was pursued with greater energy by Syed Munawwar Hassan, his successor, and seemed to colour the JI’s perception of all national and international developments.

More regretfully, the JI looked at militancy and religious extremists through this prism and stuck to a policy that seemed to run counter to the national consensus on the need to take the menace of terrorism head on.

Today, the JI is part of the KP government, and that serves to inject sobriety into its policies. But that alone doesn’t explain the subtle change in thinking.

As a realist, Mr Haq knows that the JI’s parliamentary representation is not necessarily a true barometer of its space in society; it is a mainstream party with a large middle-class base.

And yet, reflection is needed by the JI leadership on the party’s controversial political past and the reasons behind its failure to muster enough support to make an impact in parliament.

Without such introspection, Mr Haq, for all his pragmatism, may not be able to do much to improve the Jamaat’s image in the eyes of the public and improve the party’s chances at the polls.

Published in Dawn, November 9th, 2014