After placing its candidate in the NA-120 by-poll, Hafiz Saeed’s Milli Muslim League (MML) has formally inaugurated its office in Peshawar and announced its support for an independent candidate running for NA-4 by-election scheduled for October 26.
The Kohat Road office of the MML was inaugurated on Wednesday and MML President Saifullah Khalid, Farooq Khan of Tehreek-e-Nojawanan group and the independent candidate for NA-4 Alhaj Liaquat Ali Khan attended the ceremony.
On the occasion, Saifullah Khalid said, “The by-election is no longer between political parties but between the forces of good and evil, Pakistan and United States and Pakistan and Narendra Modi’s India,” reiterating his support for the independent candidate Liaquat Ali Khan. He urged the constituency’s residents to vote for Khan and put an end to the forces which come into power by fueling sectarianism and linguistic divides.
Lambasting at Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) led government in the province, he said that the provincial government had deprived the constituency during the past four years, and promised that if elected, the MML-backed candidate will address all the problems of the constituency.
The MML had announced the founding of a political party on August 7 this year with Saifullah Khalid, the son-in-law of Jamaatud Dawa leader Hafiz Saeed, as its president. The party pulled a surprise last month when its candidate Yaqoob Sheikh managed to bag 5,822 votes on September 17 by-election in Lahore’s NA-120 constituency which had fallen vacant after Nawaz Sharif was disqualified from the NA-120 seat by the Supreme Court.
The MML candidate had successfully surpassed Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) candidates in the by-poll.
Last week, the Interior Ministry had urged the Election Commission of Pakistan to refrain from registering MML as a political entity, saying that allowing such parties to flourish will fuel violence and extremism in domestic politics.
