Ahead of the 25 July polls in Pakistan, election campaigns have gained momentum across the country, with several political parties and independent leaders vowing to change the country's image if elected. There is also a debate on the influence and role of the military in these elections. Many still suspect that the general elections can be delayed further, and there is a reason why the military's role is being questioned to a great extent in the process
Amid this confusion, several military-backed groups have jumped into the fray to revamp their image. The son and son-in-law of Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed — believed to be the mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai attacks — will be contesting the upcoming elections for National Assembly (NA) seats from Punjab. JuD's deputy information secretary Ahmed Nadeem confirmed this development. The Election Commission of Pakistan, which had earlier refused to register Saeed's newly-established Mili Muslim League (MML) — as it was considered a political front for the JuD — has accepted the nomination papers of his son Hafiz Talha Saeed to fight for the NA-91 Sargodha-IV seat in Punjab in Pakistan's Lower House of Parliament. He will be contesting the polls on a ticket from the little-known Allah-o-Akbar Tehreek. His son-in-law Hafiz Khalid Waleed is in the race for a constituency of Lahore, a historic city that is considered a stronghold of the proscribed outfit.
The influence of Pakistan's security establishment is viewed as overwhelming even in political affairs. Democratic governments and elected prime ministers are not allowed to complete their constitutional term. Such groups are largely seen as pressure tactics to curtail the influence of certain politicians.
As per its plan, the MML will field candidates from 80 NA and 185 provincial seats across Pakistan, but the focus will remain on Punjab — the largest province — where 50 NA and 152 provincial candidates will be in the race. An MML spokesperson revealed that the real decision-makers had persuaded the top leadership of the group to shun militancy and take part in politics under a new banner, a common practice in the country to counter domestic and international sanctions by changing the titles of the outfits.