Political parties and the interior ministry raised objection to ECP for letting banned militants contest the election
LAHORE: In the recent by-election for NA-120 in Lahore, two religious and far-right political parties, Tehreek-e-Labaik and the Mili Muslim League, surpassed few other political parties, including the PPP, and got more votes than them. Political parties and the interior ministry raised objection to ECP letting the branch-outs of banned militant outfits contest the election. Apparently least bothered, the Election Commission has now reported allotted the symbol of ‘crane’ to the Tehreek-e-Labaik. Despite the fact that the interior ministry has raised the issue multiple times, the Election Commission seems to follow its own rules, completely disregarding the state rhetoric of strict action against militant organisations. This raises questions about the authority of the interior ministry, as it has reportedly been unable to take action against the two aforementioned organisations, their candidates and the Election Commission. Such failure is certainly going to taint the operations against militant outfits and the efforts the government is making to tackle extremist ideology and terrorism.
Mashal Nasir
Published in The Express Tribune, October 4th, 2017.
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