Originally the regional command of the wider Ba'ath Party the Ba'ath Party played an important role in Qatif's early parliamentary politics. In 1961 the party led by Nasser bin Mutaib headed a leftist coalition that came into conflict with the Sultan Al-Qa'im ibn al-Aziz ibn Mohammed al-Tahir. This prompted unrest in Qatif that ended after a military coup led by Mustafa al-Karim displaced the Sultan and created an Arab Republic. Bin Mutaib was replaced by Omar Hakim who transferred the position of regional secretary to al-Karim, with Hakim becoming the de jure ideologue of the Ba'ath party when in reality al-Karim controlled the party completely. The National Command of the Ba'ath Party were somewhat unwilling to support the new idealogical deviations made by the Qatifi Ba'ath Party. Under