A political party linked to Mumbai terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed has suffered a defeat in a parliamentary by-election in Pakistan, with the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) retaining the seat.The contest took place on Sunday in the NA-77 constituency of Gujranwala district in Punjab, around 80 km from Lahore. The by-election was necessitated by the death of sitting lawmaker Mehmood Bashir Virk.According to results announced by the Election Commission on Monday, Pakistan Markazi Muslim League (PMML) candidate Muhammad Ibrahim Gujjar secured more than 30,000 votes. However, he was defeated by PML-N’s Rashid Bashir Virk, who polled over 43,000 votes.The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan, the Pakistan Peoples Party and Jamaat-e-Islami did not contest the by-election.The polling saw a low voter turnout and was accompanied by allegations of electoral malpractice. Voters in one village boycotted the election entirely, while five PML-N women lawmakers were issued notices seeking explanations over alleged violations of the election code of conduct.Rejecting the outcome, the PMML accused the ruling PML-N of widespread rigging and refused to accept the results.The party had also contested Pakistan’s 2024 general elections but failed to win a single seat.Hafiz Saeed, who founded the banned terrorist outfits Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jamaat-ud-Dawa, was previously associated with the Milli Muslim League. The PMML later emerged as another political platform linked to him and reportedly enjoys the backing of Pakistan’s establishment.
