After exploding onto the political scene in September’s NA-120 by-election, Sheikh Yaqoob thought it might not be a bad idea to have a place to operate from, ideally inside the constituency where he bagged 5,822 votes.
Yaqoob is an independent candidate but who was backed by the then, and still, unregistered Milli Muslim League (MML) that is openly aligned with the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba and proscribed Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD). Yaqoob threw in his lot for the by-election to the National Assembly seat vacated by ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif. (The seat eventually went to his wife Kulsoom Nawaz.)
Yaqoob was subsequently gifted a private space on Mohini Road in Lahore to set up stall for the upcoming general elections. What many people feel, however, is that it is wrong on so many levels for the MML to open an office in the very heart of Lahore and actually in the hub of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).
“Except that it’s not an MML office,” said Tabish Qayuum, the party’s spokesman, by way of a correction. “It is Sheikh Yaqoob’s personal office which he has opened as an independent candidate, contrary to what the media has been misreporting. We have yet to be registered by the Election Commission of Pakistan and hence haven’t opened any offices yet.”
As it turns out, the ‘inauguration’ of the ‘MML office’ on Sunday wasn’t quite supposed to be the ceremony that it eventually turned out to be.
“Hafiz saab (Hafiz Saeed) and I were supposed to meet on Sunday to discuss our plan of action, so we thought it was a great idea to meet up at this new place that a close friend has gifted me for political campaigning,” Sheikh Yaqoob said.
However, when Hafiz Saeed and his entourage entered the area, hordes of men joined in, especially around Chaudhry Park and Outfall Road areas, chanting slogans in favour of the JuD and MML chief – a globally designated terrorist and main accused in the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
“The whole thing became a celebration of sorts, and eventually Hafiz saab addressed the thousands of his followers as well.”
Saeed’s address was a reenactment of the MML manifesto released by the party in the build-up to its launch in August: vying to reinforce the ‘ideology of Pakistan’, reinstalling ‘patriotism’ at the government helm and liberation of Kashmir. With US President Donald Trump recognising Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, Saeed also reaffirmed his vow to ‘free Qibla-e-Awwal’.
Saeed, the MML chief, was released last month after the Lahore High Court ruled that there was “insufficient evidence” against him to prolong his 10-month house arrest. Those close to Saeed say that he feels there hasn’t been a better time to launch a formal political campaign ‘based on Kashmir, the ideology of Pakistan and proper Islamisation of Pakistan’.
“We have been highlighting the true face of India for years, but in recent times the world has seen Hindu extremist forces not just in Kashmir but the way Muslims are being targeted in the rest of India,” says JuD spokesman Nadeem Awan.
“Hafiz saab strongly believes that only by making Pakistan a truly Islamic state can the fight for Kashmir and the struggle to protect Muslims around the world, including Palestine, be launched. And that is his plan of action in this election bid.”
‘True patriotism’ is what Hafiz Saeed is looking for in potential allies, members of his entourage further confirm. Among these is Gen (retired) Pervez Musharraf, who last month touted himself as the LeT’s “greatest supporter” and announced a 23-party “grand alliance” called the Pakistan Awami Ittehad.
“Yes, a potential alliance with Gen Musharraf, who has had a close relationship with Hafiz saab, has been under consideration,” confirms MML Finance Secretary Ehsanullah. “And so are potential alliances with other parties. But nothing is final yet.”
Another potential linkup is with the Pakistan Awami Tehrik that is at the centre of the campaign against the PML-N, which the MML considers its principal enemy, with parties queuing up to join hands with its leader Tahir-ul-Qadri in Punjab.
“We wholeheartedly support PAT’s cause,” says Tabish Qayuum, but maintains that no political alliances have been discussed as yet.
Meanwhile, at his newly ‘inaugurated’ office Sheikh Yaqoob is now at the forefront of Hafiz Saeed’s bid to dislodge the Sharif family from Nawaz Sharif’s own constituency.
“Hafiz saab told me that if we manage to prevent electoral rigging and corruption, of which the Sharif family are kings, there’s no reason why I can’t win NA-120 in 2018,” he says.
Yaqoob believes Hafiz Saeed has done more welfare work for the residents of NA-120 than the Sharif family that has been in power for decades.
“Ask the NA-120 residents who has done more for them, JuD or PML-N,” says Yaqoob. “Ask them who has done more to ensure cleanliness, to provide health facilities on an urgent basis, to address the locals’ concerns whenever River Ravi overflows…”
But while it is evident what Hafiz Saeed and MML’s long-term goals are going into 2018, as they spearhead the formal mainstreaming of militants into Pakistani politics, what is Hafiz Saeed’s immediate plan of action?
“Getting MML registered at the ECP, of course,” says Tabish Qayuum.
Yaqoob is an independent candidate but who was backed by the then, and still, unregistered Milli Muslim League (MML) that is openly aligned with the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba and proscribed Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD). Yaqoob threw in his lot for the by-election to the National Assembly seat vacated by ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif. (The seat eventually went to his wife Kulsoom Nawaz.)
Yaqoob was subsequently gifted a private space on Mohini Road in Lahore to set up stall for the upcoming general elections. What many people feel, however, is that it is wrong on so many levels for the MML to open an office in the very heart of Lahore and actually in the hub of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).
"It is Sheikh Yaqoob's personal office which he has opened as an independent candidate, contrary to what the media has been misreporting. We have yet to be registered by the Election Commission of Pakistan and hence haven't opened any offices yet"
“Except that it’s not an MML office,” said Tabish Qayuum, the party’s spokesman, by way of a correction. “It is Sheikh Yaqoob’s personal office which he has opened as an independent candidate, contrary to what the media has been misreporting. We have yet to be registered by the Election Commission of Pakistan and hence haven’t opened any offices yet.”
As it turns out, the ‘inauguration’ of the ‘MML office’ on Sunday wasn’t quite supposed to be the ceremony that it eventually turned out to be.
“Hafiz saab (Hafiz Saeed) and I were supposed to meet on Sunday to discuss our plan of action, so we thought it was a great idea to meet up at this new place that a close friend has gifted me for political campaigning,” Sheikh Yaqoob said.
However, when Hafiz Saeed and his entourage entered the area, hordes of men joined in, especially around Chaudhry Park and Outfall Road areas, chanting slogans in favour of the JuD and MML chief – a globally designated terrorist and main accused in the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
“The whole thing became a celebration of sorts, and eventually Hafiz saab addressed the thousands of his followers as well.”
Saeed’s address was a reenactment of the MML manifesto released by the party in the build-up to its launch in August: vying to reinforce the ‘ideology of Pakistan’, reinstalling ‘patriotism’ at the government helm and liberation of Kashmir. With US President Donald Trump recognising Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, Saeed also reaffirmed his vow to ‘free Qibla-e-Awwal’.
Saeed, the MML chief, was released last month after the Lahore High Court ruled that there was “insufficient evidence” against him to prolong his 10-month house arrest. Those close to Saeed say that he feels there hasn’t been a better time to launch a formal political campaign ‘based on Kashmir, the ideology of Pakistan and proper Islamisation of Pakistan’.
“We have been highlighting the true face of India for years, but in recent times the world has seen Hindu extremist forces not just in Kashmir but the way Muslims are being targeted in the rest of India,” says JuD spokesman Nadeem Awan.
“Hafiz saab strongly believes that only by making Pakistan a truly Islamic state can the fight for Kashmir and the struggle to protect Muslims around the world, including Palestine, be launched. And that is his plan of action in this election bid.”
‘True patriotism’ is what Hafiz Saeed is looking for in potential allies, members of his entourage further confirm. Among these is Gen (retired) Pervez Musharraf, who last month touted himself as the LeT’s “greatest supporter” and announced a 23-party “grand alliance” called the Pakistan Awami Ittehad.
“Yes, a potential alliance with Gen Musharraf, who has had a close relationship with Hafiz saab, has been under consideration,” confirms MML Finance Secretary Ehsanullah. “And so are potential alliances with other parties. But nothing is final yet.”
Another potential linkup is with the Pakistan Awami Tehrik that is at the centre of the campaign against the PML-N, which the MML considers its principal enemy, with parties queuing up to join hands with its leader Tahir-ul-Qadri in Punjab.
“We wholeheartedly support PAT’s cause,” says Tabish Qayuum, but maintains that no political alliances have been discussed as yet.
Meanwhile, at his newly ‘inaugurated’ office Sheikh Yaqoob is now at the forefront of Hafiz Saeed’s bid to dislodge the Sharif family from Nawaz Sharif’s own constituency.
“Hafiz saab told me that if we manage to prevent electoral rigging and corruption, of which the Sharif family are kings, there’s no reason why I can’t win NA-120 in 2018,” he says.
Yaqoob believes Hafiz Saeed has done more welfare work for the residents of NA-120 than the Sharif family that has been in power for decades.
“Ask the NA-120 residents who has done more for them, JuD or PML-N,” says Yaqoob. “Ask them who has done more to ensure cleanliness, to provide health facilities on an urgent basis, to address the locals’ concerns whenever River Ravi overflows…”
But while it is evident what Hafiz Saeed and MML’s long-term goals are going into 2018, as they spearhead the formal mainstreaming of militants into Pakistani politics, what is Hafiz Saeed’s immediate plan of action?
“Getting MML registered at the ECP, of course,” says Tabish Qayuum.