Pakistan elections: In a major development, a party backed by the mastermind of the Mumbai blast which is often dubbed as 26/11, is contesting in the upcoming general elections in Pakistan. According to a report by a Pakistani English daily, Dawn, the Pakistan Markazi Muslim League (PMML), a party considered to be backed by Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, has fielded candidates for each and every national and provincial assembly constituency.
Besides, the Pakistan media report also claimed that Hafiz's son Talha Saeed is also in the run. The media report claimed that Talha is contesting from the National Assembly’s constituency NA-127, Lahore.
Notably, Saeed, the founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), has been in jail since 2019 after being convicted for several years in multiple terror finance cases along with some other leaders of the banned Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD). Saeed-led JuD is the front organisation for the LeT, which is responsible for carrying out the 2008 Mumbai attack that killed 166 people, including six Americans.
Who is contesting against Nawaz Sharif?
Besides, Talha, PMML’s central president Khalid Masood Sindhu is also contesting from Lahore against Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz supremo and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif. "We want to come to power not for corruption but to serve the people and make Pakistan an Islamic welfare state," he said in a video message.
However, when news agency PTI contacted him, Sindhu denied his party's link with Saeed's outfit. "The PMML has no backing of Hafiz Saeed," he claimed on Monday.
It is worth mentioning, the Milli Muslim League (MML) was the political face of JuD. It had fielded candidates on most seats, especially in Punjab province but failed to win a single seat in the last general elections held in 2018.
For the 2024 polls, the PMML has been formed because of a ban on the MML.
