Who is Talha Saeed, the son of dreaded terrorist Hafiz Saeed, who will contest Pakistan elections?

A new political party called the Pakistan Markazi Muslim League (PMML), launched by the mastermind of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, Hafiz Saeed, is set to run in the country’s forthcoming general elections. However, Talha Saeed, Hafiz’s son, is the centre of attention as he prepares to contest from Lahore’s NA-127 National Assembly constituency, reported Pakistani English daily Dawn. He intends to run in the general elections against the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz)’s upper leadership (PML-(N)). The move has raised concerns due to Talha Saeed’s association with the banned terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). Here’s all we know about him. Who is Talha Saeed? Talha Saeed is the son of Hafiz Saeed, the mastermind of the deadly 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. Hafiz, the founder of UN-banned LeT, was found guilty in multiple terror financing cases and has been imprisoned since 2019. A USD 10 million bounty has been placed on Saeed by the United States. Experts believe that it’s a ploy by ISI and Islamabad to make sure Saeed escapes any attempt on his life, according to Wion News. Like his father, Talha has been deeply embroiled in terror activities. Issuing a notification on 8 April this year, the Union home ministry emphasised Talha’s leadership of the terror group’s cleric wing and his status as a senior leader of LeT. He has been involved in activities against India in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), according to the Ministry, and he is still taking steps that threaten the peace and stability of the Jammu and Kashmir area, as per News18. The notification added that the 47-year-old has been “actively involved in recruitment, fund collection, and planning and executing attacks by the LeT in India and Indian interests in Afghanistan.” Under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act of 1967, the Ministry of Home Affairs labeled him as a terrorist. The controversy The PMML’s electoral logo is “chair.” PMML President Khalid Masood Sindhu announced via video message that his party is running for the majority of seats in the national and provincial assemblies. “We want to come to power not for corruption but to serve the people and make Pakistan an Islamic welfare state,” he said. According to Indian intelligence officers with knowledge of the developments who spoke with CNN-News18, Talha Saeed’s nomination demonstrated that Pakistan acknowledges and supports terrorist organisations like LeT and wants terrorists in Parliament. They emphasised that the party supported by terror groups had received recognition from Pakistani electoral authorities and had been given a symbol to run for office. In an interview with the news agency PTI, Sindhu refuted any connections between PMML and Hafiz Saeed’s group. He asserted, “Our party has no backing of Hafiz Saeed.” Elections in Pakistan are scheduled for 8 February 2024. Khalid Masood Sindhu, meanwhile, will run from NA-130 Lahore against Nawaz Sharif, the former prime minister of Pakistan and leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz. PMML’s history Notably, PMML ran for office in the 2018 general election as the Milli Muslim League, the political wing of the banned Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), the LeT’s front organisation, as per Wion News. At that time, Talha submitted nomination papers for the NA-91 (Sargodha-IV) seat, while Hafiz Khalid Waleed, the son-in-law of Hafiz Saeed, ran for office from NA-133 (Lahore-XI). Following the party’s crushing defeat in the polls, the Pakistani government banned the Milli League. As Hafiz Saeed makes another attempt at breaking political ground with PMML being born from the Milli League.