Islamabad HC allows EC to register Hafiz Saeed's MML party

The Islamabad High Court on Thursday issued an order to the election commission here to allow the registration of the Milli Muslim League (MML), the political party created by 26/11 mastermind and one of the world's most wanted terrorist Hafiz Saeed.

According to reports, the Pakistan Election Commission had been refusing to allow the MML to get itself registered as a political party to contest the 2018 general elections.

Media reports claim that the MML is a sub-branch of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LET) and the Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JUD), both founded and nurtured by Hafiz saeed.

Both of these outfits have long been accused of spearheading terror attacks in India, the most notable of which was the December 13, 2001 terror strike on the Indian Parliament and the November 26-29, 2008 terror strikes in several locations across Mumbai.

After the November 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai, the United Nations Security Council banned the Jamaat-ud-Dawa. Many countries, including India and the United States, have banned the Lashkar-e-Taiba as well.

In the last year, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had canceled the application for registering the Milli Muslim League. The MML had wanted its approval as a political party to participate in the elections this year. The Interior Ministry, however, wrote to the ECP and told it not to register any banned terror outfit having links to the MML.

In December, Saeed opened his political office in former prime minister Nawaz Sharif's parliamentary constituency. In August, a decision was taken by the Jamaat-ud-Dawa to form a political party.