IHC fixes hearing of petition seeking registration of MML

'The ECP is not abiding by rules and regulations'

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday scheduled a hearing regarding the registration of Milli Muslim League (MML) as a political party for the first week of December.

A hearing, presided by Justice Umer Farooq, was held at the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on a petition filed by MML president Saifullah Khalid.

"The Election commission of Pakistan (ECP) is not abiding by the court's rules and regulations," Advocate Raja Rizwan Abbasi said during the hearing.

"The high court should approve the petition for hearing," said the lawyer representing MML, to which the IHC complied and scheduled a hearing on the matter for the first week of December.

Earlier the high court had sent the issue of MML's registration to the ECP.



Last year in October, in a significant move, the ECP on rejected application to enlist as a political party MML – a purported offshoot of Hafiz Saeed’s Jamaatud Dawa (JuD) which is under watch list for proscribed organisations.

A four-member bench of the ECP took decision on the basis of feedback received from Ministry of Interior. After announcing to form a political party, some people – allegedly affiliated with JuD – had filed an application with the ECP to get the new party registered as the MML.

The ECP had sought feedback about the office-bearers of the proposed party from the Interior Ministry which in a letter opined that allowing such parties to flourish will fuel violence and extremism in domestic politics.



The ministry told the ECP that it had decided not to support the MML’s registration on the basis of recommendations received from the Foreign Office and the intelligence agencies.