Pakistan-based international terrorist Hafiz Muhammad Saeed has announced that he will enter mainstream politics, sources said. Saeed is believed to be the mastermind of and 2008 Mumbai terror attack and has been listed as designated global terrorist by the United States.
Currently head of the banned outfit Jamaat-ul-Dawah, Saeed is expected to make the official announcement of Pakistan Independence Day on August 14.
Hafiz Saeed will launch his political outfit Mili Awaami League on Pakistan's independence day at a function in Lahore, a Pakistan-based source told Newsnation.
Saeed, has been contemplating the entry into politics for some time now. In 2012, he had hinted that he may declare his outfit JuD as a political party in apress conference in Karachi. At the time there were speculations that he may contest elections either to the Punjab Assembly or the National Assembly, the lower house of Parliament.
However, the JuD was soon banned in Pakistan and Saeed was put on house arrest following international pressure of Pak Govt.
In a major shift in policy towards Saeed, Pakistan government has been fighting tooth and nail to defend JuD chief ever since he has been enlisted as a global terrorist by Trump administration recently.