MML of Hafiz Saeed opens office in Lahore

Lahore, Dec 25  : Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed has opened an office of his Milli Muslim League (MML) here despite opposition by the Interior Ministry over an entry of "offshoots of proscribed entities into the political arena".

The Interior Ministry had opposed the registration of MML as a political party terming it an "offshoot of banned Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and JuD".

Saeed, blamed for the 2008 Mumbai terror attack, on Sunday visited different areas of National Assembly constituency (NA-120), the Lahore seat the Sharifs have never lost since their debut in politics in 1985.

The office of MML, floated by the JuD in August this year, was inaugurated by Saeed on Mohni Road. He listened to civic problems of the area people after the inauguration, Dawn online reported on Monday.

Supporters welcomed the LeT founder by showering rose petals on his vehicle in Kasurpura, Chaudhry Park and Outfall Road.

The MML, which surfaced in the by-polls for NA-120 in September and gained fourth position with votes double that of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Jamaat-i-Islami combined, is yet to be registered with the Election Commission of Pakistan.