Musharraf may ally with Hafiz Saeed for 2018 polls

Wednesday 06th December 2017 06:45 EST
 
 

Islamabad: Former Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf, who earlier came in support of the terror groups like the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and the Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD), has now said that he would welcome an alliance with global terrorist and 26/11 Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed for the general election in 2018.

When asked about the option of having an alliance with JuD chief Saeed, Musharraf in an interview said, "so far, there has be no talks with them but if they want to be part of the alliance, I would welcome them." The former military ruler had earlier announced the formation of a grand political alliance after a consultative meeting between representatives of around two dozen political parties, including the Sunni Tehreek, Majlis-i-Wahdatul Muslimeen, Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) and Musharraf's own All Pakistan Muslim League (APML).

However, several parties dissociated themselves from Musharraf's Awami Ittehad alliance after he announced the formation of a "grand alliance" of 23 parties. According to media reports, two major partners of the alliance - the Pakistan Awami Tehrik and the Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen - denied being part of the coalition headed by Musharraf.

Saeed, who continues to be an influential person among certain religious groups despite being an internationally designated terrorist, announced that he would contest the general election in 2018. The announcement came days after the Lahore High Court ordered his release from the house arrest. However, the JuD chief did not disclose anything about the constituency he would like to contest from.

Though, the JuD formed Milli Muslim League (MML) in August when Saeed was detained in Lahore, the party has yet to be recognised by the Election Commission of Pakistan. Saeed is a wanted terrorist by India and the United States for his alleged role in masterminding the 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai that claimed 166 lives. He even carries a bounty of 10 million USD on his head for his role in the attack.

I am LeT's 'biggest supporter': Musharraf

Earlier Musharraf has said he was the "biggest supporter" of (LeT) and expressed his liking for Hafiz Saeed. "I am the biggest supporter of LeT and I know they like me and JuD also likes me," Musharraf said. Asked if he liked Saeed, the former Pakistan Army chief said he does and that he had met him. Acknowledging that the JuD and LeT were waging a "jihad" to liberate Jammu and Kashmir from India, Musharraf said: "Yes, they are involved in Kashmir and I support them." Musharraf said that he had always favoured "action" in Kashmir. "I was always in favour of action in Kashmir and of suppressing the Indian Army in Kashmir."


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