Outlawed group leader wins seat in parliament
Sheikh Akram of PML-N disqualified from Jhang for rigging and defaulting on a loan
lahore — The head of a group banned by the government as a terrorist organisation has won a seat in parliament following an election tribunal’s decision, officials said on Thursday.
Maulana Ahmad Ludhianvi, who leads the sectarian Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ), won an appeal after losing the seat at Jhang in Punjab during last May’s general election.
The hardline ASWJ is widely seen as a front for Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan, a group formed in the 1980s and responsible for hundreds of sectarian killings.
The interior ministry banned ASWJ as a terrorist group in 2012, but it operates freely in Pakistan and its banners are frequently seen at public rallies.
Ludhianvi ran on the ticket of the six-party religious alliance Muttahida Deeni Mahaz (United Religious Front), which did not win a seat in the May 2013 election.
Sheikh Mohammed Akram of the Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz, which came to power nationally in the election, won the ballot in Jhang. But the tribunal disqualified him for rigging the vote and defaulting on a loan.
“A tribunal gave its decision on Wednesday and de-seated the winner Sheikh Mohammed Akram and declared Maulana Ludhianvi the winner, who was the runner up in the election,” Mehboob Anwer, election commis- sioner for Punjab province, said.
Younas Qasimi, a close aide to Ludhianvi, said the workers of his organisation were elated after hearing the decision and distributed sweets in the city to celebrate the victory.
He said Ludhianvi had appealed against Akram because he was a loan defaulter who cannot contest elections under the laws and had also rigged the election.
Akram said he would challenge the tribunal’s ruling in the Supreme Court.
ASWJ is known as the political arm of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, one of the most active terror groups in Pakistan and responsible for a string of bloody sectarian attacks. —