Hafiz Saeed's new political party to launch manifesto

Jamaat-ud-Dawah chief and 26/11 attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed's newly formed Milli Muslim League (MML) has announced that it will launch its own manifesto on March 23, ahead of the Pakistan general elections later this year.

This comes after the Islamabad High Court set aside the decision of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to reject the application of the MML for registration as a political party last week, according to local media reports.

The ECP had earlier rejected MML's application to register Saeed's political party on the Pakistan interior ministry's recommendation, saying that the "MML has links with banned militant outfits".

MML President Saifullah Khalid said on Tuesday that there were no "legal hurdles" left for the registration of the party and said that it will release the manifesto as per the scheduled date.

Commenting on the court verdict, Khalid said, "This is a victory of the Pakistan ideology. The court has allowed MML to give us a chance to play its role in national politics."

Khalid added that it will field its candidates in all provincial and national assembly seats in the Pakistan general elections.

In January, Saeed's entities were moved from Pakistan's watch list to the list of proscribed organisations after the government introduced a presidential ordinance by amending the country's anti-terrorism act to include UN-designated terrorist groups and individuals for terror financing, paved the way for the confiscation of JuD and FIF assets.

However, despite the ban, the entities were found to be freely operating in Pakistan.

Last month, Pakistani authorities confirmed that the country was going back on the "grey list" of the FATF, after a span of nearly four years.

In December last year, Saeed opened his political office in former prime minister Nawaz Sharif's parliamentary constituency in Lahore.

India has, time and again, protested against Pakistan for harbouring Saeed, who is wanted for plotting the 2008 Mumbai attacks, which claimed 166 lives.