- Ministry’s letter to ECP says party’s candidate Yaqoob is affiliated with banned JuD
- Ahsan says no violent group or party to be allowed to spread anarchy or chaos
The Ministry of Interior Affairs has objected to the candidature of Milli Muslim League nominee Mohammad Yaqoob Sheikh in NA-120, Lahore-III by-election, a private TV channel reported on Wednesday.
The ministry conveyed its objection to the Election Commission of Pakistan through a letter, the channel reported while quoting sources. Basically, Yaqoob is affiliated with the Jamaat-ud-Daa’wa (JuD) and his party got itself registered under a new name to contest the election, the letter read.
It is pertinent to mention here that the JuD is under scrutiny after the ministry listed in the Second Schedule of the ATA 1997 in January, 2017. Yaqoob is contesting the NA-120 by-election on electoral symbol ‘energy saver’. The MML has not been formally registered with the Election Commission.
The MML has already shown its presence in NA-120, and decided to oppose Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) candidate Kulsoom Nawaz. The channel reported that MML’s was against the PML-N and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif. The party held its first corner meeting in the constituency in August.
BAN ON TERRORIST GROUP: Minister for Interior Affairs Ahsan Iqbal informed Senate’s Standing Committee on Interior and Narcotics Control that the National Action Plan (NAP) would be implemented with full vigour and commitment through coordinated efforts with provinces.
He said that the government would soon impose a ban on the Ansarul Shariah, a militant group allegedly involved in the attack on the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) leader in Karachi on Eid day. He said that all of the militant group’s members in Karachi have been arrested.
He said that the remaining militants, who are on the run, will be nabbed soon as well. He said that this has been a major breakthrough and the government was committed to breaking the entire network of the group. Sindh Rangers Director General Mohammad Saeed had briefed the minister about the attack on MQM-P leader Khawaja Izharul Hassan and the developments in the case.
Ahsan also said that every political party, including MQM-Pakistan, has political freedom. He said that no violent group or party would be allowed to spread anarchy or chaos in the country. “We should stop our educated youth from indulging in surge of terrorism and extremism,” he said during the meeting.
He said that it was also decided in the meeting that all the chief secretaries of the provinces will meet once in a month and the chief ministers will sit together after two months for the better implementation of NAP. He said all recommendations of the committee members and the general public will be welcomed for proper implementation of NAP.