Pakistan poll panel rejects ‘terrorist’ party plea for recognition

Islamabad, Oct 13: Pakistan Election Commission has denied recognition to a new political party named Milli Muslim League (MML) because of its clear links with Islamist terrorist groups.

The Pak Election Commission has prohibited this political outfit form participating in any state or general election consultations.

The MML party was founded in last August as the ‘clean face’ of Jamaat-ud-Dawa, a known terrorist organisation which is banned in Pakistan. It worked as a cover of Lashkar-e-Taiba and al-Qaeda leaders.

LET chief is Hafiz Saeed who accused of being the planner of the 2008 terrorist attacks On Mumbai that killed more than 160 people. The UN judges the man a terrorist; since 2012, the United States has placed a bounty of $ 10 million on his head; since January this year he is under house arrest in Lahore, under local laws against terrorism.

Pakistan Minister of State for Home Affairs Tallal Chaudhary specifically said that under no circumstances the government would allow a political party with proven involvement in promoting violence and terrorism and to spread extremist ideology under the guise of democracy and political means.

The Milli Muslim League already participated in the elections in September when former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif exonerated by the Supreme Court, left a vacant seat in Lahore. The MML supported candidate ranked fourth.

To the news of the result, many have expressed concern over the progressive affirmation of militant groups in Pakistan’s political arena. Observers described the ability to collect consensus in such a short time as “alarming”, succeeding in mobilizing a sufficient number of votes to produce a credible challenger.