Zainul was then charged with representing the Masyumi Party's faction within the Central Indonesian National Committee (KNIP), the precursor to the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), while continuing to hold the leadership of Hezbollah, which had also been integrated into the armed forces. During the Indonesian National Revolution, in addition to attending sessions of the KNIP which had been relocated several times due to the urgency of the situation then, Arifin also led guerrilla movements in Central Java and East Java during the first and second Dutch Military Aggressions. During the Dutch's second military offensive in December 1948, the Dutch military had successfully captured Yogyakarta and held both Sukarno and Hatta captive. During the state of emergency, the Working Committee of the KNIP was essentially non-functioning. Arifin was then involved as a member of the Central Government Commissariat in Java, part of the Emergency Government of the Republic of Indonesia (PDRI) located in Bukittinggi, West Sumatra.