Pakistan Election Panel Refuses to Recognise Hafiz Saeed’s Political Front

File photo of Hafiz Saeed, head of Jamaat-ud-Dawa (Image: Reuters)

New Delhi: The 26/11 mastermind and Jamaat-ud-Dawa founder Hafiz Saeed’s political front Milli Muslim League on Thursday encountered a roadblock after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) refused to grant it the recognition. The election body also warned the leaders against using the party’s name in election campaigns.

The returning officer (RO) for the by-election in NA-120 interdicted Sheikh Mohammad Yaqoob from using photos of the banned organization’s leaders on his banners and poster, Pakistan daily Dawn reported.

An ECP spokesperson said action would be taken under the ECP’s code of conduct if Yaqoob failed to comply with the returning officer’s directives.

The Jamaat had launched its political wing in August, vowing to make Pakistan a “real Islamic and welfare state”.

The U.S. State Department’s country report on terrorism for 2016 issued last month said the LeT and its wings continued to make use of economic resources and raise funds in Pakistan.

The group has been on Pakistan’s terror watch list for several years, but the country has shown a little inclination towards banning it.

The United States has declared a bounty of $10 million for information leading to the arrest and conviction of JuD’s founding chief Hafiz Saeed. The Pakistan government had placed him under house arrest earlier this year.