Days after release, JuD chief Hafiz Saeed announces plan to contest 2018 Pakistan general elections

Days after the Lahore High Court ordered Hafiz Saeed’s release from house arrest, the Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief and alleged 26/11 Mumbai attacks mastermind has announced his plan to contest in the 2018 general election, Daily Pakistan reported on Saturday. [caption id=“attachment_4224121” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of JuD chief Hafiz Saeed. AFP[/caption] According to Daily Pakistan, Saeed said that he would seek a seat in the national assembly through Milli Muslim League (MML), but did not reveal details on the constituency he would contest from. The JuD formed MML  when Saeed was detained in Lahore. After weeks of campaigning in Punjab’s provincial capital Lahore, Saeed’s close aide Saifullah Khalid had announced the formation of MML in August. Khalid had claimed that the new party will strive to make Pakistan a “real Islamic state”. In September, MML leader Sheikh Yaqoob had said that the party “will field candidates in every constituency  of the country in 2018’s election.” Saeed, who had been under house arrest since January, was released on 22 November when a judicial review board of the Lahore High Court  rejected the Punjab government's plea  seeking a three-month extension on the detention. Hours after the court’s order for Saeed’s release, the Donald Trump administration expressed displeasure and said that he was was designated "a terrorist leader by both the United Nations and the United States".

As he walked free from house arrest, Saeed—who carries a bounty of $10 million announced by the US for his role in terror activities— told his supporters that he was detained for 10 months only “to stop my voice for Kashmir”. On Tuesday, Saeed petitioned the United Nations to remove his name from the global terrorist list. The UN had designated Saeed a terrorist after the 26 November, 2008 attacks in Mumbai, which killed 166 people. With inputs from PTI