JuD chief Saeed opens MML party office in Lahore
ISLAMABAD: Mumbai terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed has inaugurated an office of the Milli Muslim League in Lahore, days after the Pakistan interior ministry voiced opposition to the registration of the party seen as the political offshoot of his Jamaat-ud-Dawa group.
Saeed inaugurated the office on Mohni Road, which falls under the NA-120 seat, once the constituency of former premier Nawaz Sharif. He was reportedly welcomed with local residents showering his vehicle with rose petals at Kasurpura, Chaudhry Park and Outfall Road for the event over the weekend. He enquired about the civic problems faced by locals.
The interior ministry said the MML is the offshoot of banned terror groups Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and JuD.
The government has also requested an Islamabad court to not consider MML’s plea seeking its registration as a political party, saying the group would breed violence and extremism in politics — the ministry has categorically made it clear that the state will not allow the mainstreaming of “jihad outfits”.
The MML had first surfaced in September during the by-poll for NA-120, which fell vacant after Sharif was disqualified by the Supreme Court. Despite not being registered by the Election Commission, it managed to come fourth, garnering more than twice the combined tally of established political parties Pakistan Peoples’ Party and Jamaat-i-Islami.
Saeed spent most of 2017 under house arrest but walked free on November 24 after the Pakistan government decided against detaining him further.
The US has announced a bounty of $10 million for his role in terror activities.