Terrorist Hafiz Saeed-backed party sues Pakistan's Punjab CM for calling it terrorist outfit

Lahore: A political party in Pakistan, linked to Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed, has served a legal notice on the Chief Minister of Punjab province, Maryam Nawaz, over her remarks describing the party as a "terrorist", "illegal" and "banned" organisation.

The Pakistan Markazi Muslim League (PMML) party on Friday demanded that Nawaz withdraw the remarks, remove the disputed content from social media and issue an unconditional public apology within seven days.

The PMML is widely regarded as the political front of Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), the organisation founded by Hafiz Saeed, the mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. Saeed is a UN-designated terrorist and has been convicted in multiple terror-financing cases in Pakistan.

The ongoing political dispute in Pakistan follows the November 8 by-election in the Gujranwala National Assembly constituency (NA-77), where Nawaz's ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) retained the seat. Its candidate, Rashid Bashir Virk, secured 43,365 votes against PMML candidate Ibrahim Gujjar's 30,218.

The PMML rejected the result, alleging rigging and claiming its candidate had won. It demanded a recount in 50 polling stations.

Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari had questioned how organisations declared proscribed by the state could change their names and contest elections.

Maryam Nawaz also alleged that banned organisations and former prime minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party had contested the by-election under new names against the PML-N.

The legal notice, issued on behalf of PMML president Khalid Masood Sandhu, accused Nawaz of making defamatory remarks in a post on X and during a public speech.

The notice asks the chief minister to delete all related posts, videos, comments and other material circulated on social media or through any other medium under her control.

It warned that failure to meet the demands within seven days of receiving the notice would lead to legal proceedings before the competent courts.

The notice also seeks a written undertaking that Nawaz would refrain from repeating such allegations and preserve all relevant records and communications.

The PMML maintains that it is a legally registered political party with the Election Commission of Pakistan and has been functioning since 2022.

It argues that describing a registered political entity as a terrorist organisation without a lawful and substantiated basis could damage its reputation and public standing and undermine the democratic rights of its members and supporters.

The notice says the party contested the 2024 general elections under its electoral symbol, "Chair".

The party further claimed that its performance in the November 8 by-election reflected its growing political standing.

Hafiz Saeed has been lodged in Lahore's Kot Lakhpat jail since 2019 after being convicted in terror-financing cases.

Interestingly, the PMML earlier enjoyed "official patronage," as Senator Talal Chaudhry, Minister of State for Interior, visited its office in Faisalabad and appreciated its work. Similarly, Pakistan's Punjab Assembly Speaker, Malik Ahmad Khan, also praised Saeed at a public rally.

During the four-day conflict between Pakistan and India in May 2025, the senior officers of the Punjab government attended funerals of the banned Jamaat-ud-Dawa members killed in the Indian attack on terror camps.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Mathrubhumi and is published from a syndicated feed.)