ISTIQLAL. The leading Moroccan nationalist party in the period 1943-1962, the Istiqlal (Hizb al-Istiqlal, “Independence party”) was founded in December 1943 by Ahmad Balafrej and a group of younger Moroccan nationalists drawn from the urban bourgeoisie of Fez, Rabat, Tangier, and Tetouan. Together with King Muhammad V, Istiqlal played a major role in bringing about