...the front organization of Lashkar-e-Taiba...
plans to venture into mainstream politics. Its formation was announced on Monday by JuD and MML representatives who pledged to implement the ideology of Pakistain in accordance with the 1973 Constitution and the vision of the Quaid-e-Azam and Allama Iqbal. Defining their objectives for the country, the MML president hit all the expected talking points: corruption of the politicianship, deliberate fanning of sectarian and ethnic tensions, the country’s direction towards liberalism and secularism, etc. He also touched upon the work being carried out by the JuD’s charitable arm.
According to the law, any group or association of people has the right to form a political party. In fact, a democratic system gains vitality when the electorate has a number of options to choose from. However,
ars longa, vita brevis...
a political party launched by the JuD comes with a considerable degree of baggage, a questionable pedigree of sorts. For the JuD is on the government watch list under Schedule II of the Anti Terrorism Act, and its own predecessor, the Lashkar-e-Taiba
...the
Army of the Pure,an Ahl-e-Hadith terror organization founded by Hafiz Saeed. LeT masquerades behind the Jamaat-ud-Dawa facade within Pakistain and periodically blows things up and kills people in India. Despite the fact that it is
banned, always an interesting concept in Pakistain, the organization remains an blatant tool and perhaps an arm of the ISI...
-- now banned -- is associated with jihadist adventurism across the border, including operations such as the Mumbai attacks in 2008. It should also be noted that the LeT was an obdurate opponent of democracy, deeming it incompatible with Islam, and Monday’s meeting with the press also indicated MML’s ambivalence about the Constitution. For all these reasons, even if one disregards the laudatory references to LeT chief Hafiz Saeed
...founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba and its false-mustache offshoot Jamaat-ud-Dawa. The United Nations declared the JuD a terrorist organization in 2008 and Hafiz Saeed a terrorist as its leader. Hafiz, JuD and LeT are wholly-owned subsidiaries of the Pak intel apparatus, so that amounted to squat...
-- notwithstanding his omission from the new party’s leadership -- on the same occasion, the MML should be emphatic in its repudiation of militancy. There are several examples globally of former Lion of Islam outfits evolving into political entities, such as the Irish Republican Army: if the JuD indeed wants a change in direction, it is to be welcomed.