Mumbai terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed’s Jammat-ud-Dawah (JuD) will contest the 2018 general elections in Pakistan, a senior member of the outfit said on Monday.
This comes after a day after its candidate finished third in a crucial by-poll. Saeed’s religious charity launched the Milli Muslim League (MML) party within two weeks after the court ousted former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif over corruption allegations.
Saeed, who is under house arrest, cannot run for the seat himself nor can he attend campaign events in person. Yaqoob Sheikh, the Lahore candidate for Milli Muslim League, standing as an independent after the Electoral Commission said the party was not yet legally registered. Yaqoob was placed in 2012 on a US Treasury sanctions list of those designated as leaders of terrorist organisations, reports Reuters.
“We have got a very good response in NA-120. It was our first election and people have welcomed us. We are here to stay in the political field. People want a party that talks about making Pakistan strong against its enemies – India, United States and Israel and at the same time help them in solving their basic livelihood problems,” Yaqoob told PTI.
Hafiz Saeed, on August 7, formally entered Pakistan politics launching his party – Milli Muslim League (MML). The party had said that it would raise the Kashmir issue with full force at both provincial and federal levels, reports India Today.
The Hindustan Times reported that Saeed and his four aides – Abdullah Ubaid, Malik Zafar Iqbal, Abdul Rehman Abid and Qazi Kashif Hussain – were placed under house arrest in Lahore on January 30 under anti- terrorism act.
Aljazeera reported that the JuD was declared as a foreign terrorist organisation by the United States in June 2014. The JuD chief also carries a USD 10 million American bounty on his head for his role in terror activities.
(Feature Image Source: Twitter)