KARACHI: The Milli Muslim League (MML), a party blacklisted by the US because of alleged terror links, has said it will field independent candidates in this year’s polls if it is refused recognition by Pakistan’s election commission.
“We have already won our case against the Election Commission of Pakistan in Islamabad High Court and will plead our case before the election body. But if we are denied our due right, we will field independent candidates like we did in the by-elections of Peshawar and Lahore,” Saifullah Khalid, president of the MML, told the Karachi Press Club on Wednesday.
The MML was placed on the US list of global terrorist organizations because of its alleged links with the jihadi outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba.
Khalid condemned the US decision. “It’s the nexus of government of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz with Washington,” he said.
The MML leader described the US blacklisting as “a tactic to bar us from forthcoming elections.”
“It’s not true that we are associated with any (terrorist) group or have started working with a new name.”
The US ambassador for the region, Alice Wells, remained in Islamabad for a week before the US announced its decision, he said.
“The planning was done in Islamabad and the civilian government is part of it because it’s afraid of the popularity of the MML,” Khalid told Arab News.
Khalid said the Pakistani government had no grounds to stop the party being registered. “The government of Pakistan has praised the US decision, which shows the nexus.”
Asked if its independent candidates are also barred from contesting elections, the MML leader said the party will “deliver a surprise” and “foil all efforts to keep it away from politics.”
Khalid claimed his party supports the notion of a peaceful Pakistan and condemns violence. “We believe in nonviolence and want to see Pakistan prosper. Since we defend the ideology of Pakistan, the US wants us to remain away from the electoral process,” he said.
“Not a single FIR (first information report with the police) has been registered against any leader of the MML,” Khalid said, adding that he was ready to face any charges in Pakistani and international courts.
“If you have proof of our involvement in violence, then present it in the court. We will come and defend (ourselves),” the MML leader said.
“We don’t accept the American decisions. We will go to the courts. We will get ourselves registered,” he said.
When asked if MML was considering joining the recently formed religious alliance the Muttahida Majlis Amal, Khalid said that the parties in the union “were not welcoming.”
“We can ponder any alliance after getting registered as a party with the election commission,” he said.
Pakistan's MML leader vows to defy US terror listing: ‘We are ready to face any charges’
Pakistan's MML leader vows to defy US terror listing: ‘We are ready to face any charges’
Pakistan PM orders accelerated privatization of power sector to tackle losses
- Tenders to be issued for privatization of three major electricity distribution firms, PMO says
- Sharif says Pakistan to develop battery energy storage through public-private partnerships
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s prime minister on Monday directed the government to speed up privatization of state-owned power companies and improve electricity infrastructure nationwide, as authorities try to address deep-rooted losses and inefficiencies in the energy sector that have weighed on the economy and public finances.
Pakistan’s electricity system has long struggled with financial distress caused by a combination of factors including theft of power, inefficient collection of bills, high costs of generating electricity and a large burden of unpaid obligations known as “circular debt.” In the first quarter of the current financial year, government-owned distribution companies recorded losses of about Rs171 billion ($611 million) due to poor bill recovery and operational inefficiencies, official documents show. Circular debt in the broader power sector stood at around Rs1.66 trillion ($5.9 billion) in mid-2025, a sharp decline from past peaks but still a major fiscal drain.
Efforts to contain these losses have been a focus of Pakistan’s economic reform program with the International Monetary Fund, which has urged structural changes in the energy sector as part of financing conditions. Previous government initiatives have included signing a $4.5 billion financing facility with local banks to ease power sector debt and reducing retail electricity tariffs to support economic recovery.
“Electricity sector privatization and market-based competition is the sustainable solution to the country’s energy problems,” Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said at a meeting reviewing the roadmap for power sector reforms, according to a statement from the prime minister’s office.
The meeting reviewed progress on privatization and infrastructure projects. Officials said tenders for modernizing one of Pakistan’s oldest operational hubs, Rohri Railway Station, will be issued soon and that the Ghazi Barotha to Faisalabad transmission line, designed to improve long-distance transmission of electricity, is in the initial approval stages. While not all power-sector decisions were detailed publicly, the government emphasized expanding private sector participation and completing priority projects to strengthen the electricity grid.
In another key development, the prime minister endorsed plans to begin work on a battery energy storage system with participation from private investors to help manage fluctuations in supply and demand, particularly as renewable energy sources such as solar and wind take a growing role in generation. Officials said the concept clearance for the storage system has been approved and feasibility studies are underway.
Government briefing documents also outlined steps toward shifting some electricity plants from imported coal to locally mined Thar coal, where a railway line expansion is underway to support transport of fuel, potentially lowering costs and import dependence in the long term.
State authorities also pledged to address safety by converting unmanned railway crossings to staffed ones and to strengthen food safety inspections at stations, underscoring broader infrastructure and service improvements connected to energy and transport priorities.
