KARACHI, Pakistan (Reuters) – A Pakistani political party placed on the U.S. list of foreign terrorist organizations vowed on Wednesday to continue its political activities and participate in upcoming elections.
The Milli Muslim League (MML) is controlled by Islamist leader Hafiz Saeed, who has a $10 million U.S. bounty on his head. The group shot to prominence after fielding a candidate in a September 2017 by-election to fill a seat vacated by deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif.
The U.S. State Department on Tuesday termed MML an alias for militant organization Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), or Army of the Pure, blamed for a bloody 2008 attack in India.
“We clearly state that on U.S. announcements we will not discontinue our political activities at any cost,” MML president Saifullah Khalid said, reading from a statement in Karachi.
“Milli Muslim League will fully participate in the 2018 elections and will field candidates from across Pakistan.”
Saeed is the founder of LeT, which is also on the U.S. terrorist list and blamed by the United States and India for a four-day militant attack on Mumbai in 2008 in which 166 people were killed.
Saeed has repeatedly denied involvement in the attack.
Images of Saeed appeared on MML campaign posters during rallies…
