Will ultra Hafiz Saeed swear by Pak constitution, wonders India

NEW DELHI: Two days after Islamabad high court paved the way for registration of Mumbai terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed’s Milli Muslim League as a political party in Pakistan, Indian intelligence agencies underlined the sharp contradiction between his stated positions and his plan to enter electoral politics.

Pakistan court clears way for registration of Hafiz Saeed's political party


An intelligence officer pointed out Saeed’s focus on Quran and shariah or “God’s law” and his declaration on innumerable occasions that he would not submit to man-made laws, wondering if he had reconciled to supremacy of the Pakistani constitution and laws.

Read: Pakistan shielding Hafiz Saeed by mainstreaming his political party: MEA

Interestingly, Saeed’s outfit Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) was reported to be running sharia courts in Lahore. According to a report published in Pakistani daily ‘Dawn’ in 2016, the parallel judicial system was meant to dispense “speedy justice” by taking up citizens’ complaints and issuing summons carrying a warning of strict action in case of non-compliance.

The JuD, a front for banned Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), had claimed the court functioning from its headquarters at Jamia Qadsia, Chaubhurji, only offered arbitration and resolved disputes in accordance with the Islamic judicial system. However, the “summons” and strict action against non-compliance were not adequately explained. “It will be interesting to see if Saeed, in the event of his party contesting elections due this year and winning some seats, will set aside his position seeking rule of sharia,” said the official.

The second query of the intelligence agencies is if Saeed, now that he is supporting electoral politics, would issue a call to jihadi groups like LeT and affiliates to contest polls. “He cannot engage in lawful political activity and at the same time carry out jihadi activities through other outfits like LeT,” he said.

MEA had on Friday slammed the Pakistani establishment’s attempt to mainstream Saeed by letting him engage in electoral politics. Reacting to the Islamabad HC order allowing Milli Muslim League to be registered as a political party, thus paving the way for it to contest elections, an MEA spokesperson said Pakistan’s duplicity in taking action against terrorists operating from its soil had been exposed.