World | Pakistan
Militant chief has eye on parliament seat
The leader of a banned militant group is standing in the general election and says he will fight for the reinstatement of his group if he wins a seat in parliament.
- Reuters
- Published: 01:26 February 17, 2008
Jhang: The leader of a banned militant group is standing in the general election and says he will fight for the reinstatement of his group if he wins a seat in parliament.
Mohammad Ahmad Ludhianvi, head of the outlawed Millat-e-Islamia Pakistan, has a good chance of winning a seat in the town of Jhang in a poor farming district in Punjab province that has been a group stronghold for years.
"This is our seat and we'll win it. No one can snatch this seat from us," the bearded cleric said.
Millat-e-Islamia, or Nation of Islam, was formed in 2002 by members of the notorious Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan, a Sunni Muslim organisation that was for years involved in tit-for-tat killings with militants from the minority Shiite sect.
President Pervez Musharraf banned the Sipah-e-Sahaba and several other militant groups in January 2002 after joining the US-led campaign against terrorism following the September 11 attacks on the United States.
The US also put the Sipah-e-Sahaba on its watchlist of terrorist groups.
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