ISLAMABAD: Despite the opposition by the interior ministry to the entry of offshoots of proscribed entities into the national political arena, Jamaatud Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed has opened an office of its subsidiary in National Assembly constituency of NA-120 Lahore.

He visited different areas of the constituency that has been the stronghold of ousted Prime Minister and president of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Nawaz Sharif since 1985.

Saeed inaugurated an office of the Milli Muslim League (MML), the political face of the JuD, on Mohni Road and listened to civic problems of the area people.

The MML, which surfaced in the by-poll for NA-120 in September this year and gained fourth position with votes double than the tally of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Jamaat-i-Islami combined, is yet to be registered with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

The interior ministry has opposed MML’s registration by the ECP as a political party terming it an offshoot of a banned outfit.

People welcomed Hafiz Saeed by showering rose petals on his vehicle in Kasurpura, Chaudhry Park and Outfall Road.

The MML had applied to the ECP which, however, refused it on the recommendation of the interior ministry.

The United States has constantly expressed concern over the participation of the JuD through MML in Pakistan’s politics. It has repeatedly called for curbing its activities and threatened with punitive action if its call was not heeded.