Pakistan’s Minister of State for Interior and Senator Talal Chaudhry, a close aide of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, has sparked controversy after visiting the headquarters of the Pakistan Markazi Muslim League (PMML) — the political front of Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD), the banned organisation founded by 26/11 Mumbai attacks mastermind Hafiz Saeed.
The meeting took place at the PMML House in Faisalabad, about 130 kilometres from Lahore, where Chaudhry was formally received by senior leaders of the party. The visit marks the first by a federal minister to the PMML’s headquarters in recent years and is being interpreted as a fresh sign of the Sharif government’s willingness to politically engage with groups linked to extremist networks.
According to a statement issued by PMML, Chaudhry’s visit included detailed discussions with the party’s leadership on the “current political situation and national challenges.” Both sides reportedly emphasised the importance of “unity among political forces” and the need to maintain “political stability and democratic continuity” in Pakistan. The statement said the participants agreed that “all political parties must adopt a cooperative approach to promote harmony and strengthen democratic institutions.”
The development has raised serious questions internationally, given that the PMML is widely seen as the political reincarnation of Hafiz Saeed’s banned terror group Jamaat-ud-Dawah, which the United Nations and the United States have designated as a front for the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). The LeT was responsible for orchestrating the November 26, 2008, Mumbai terror attacks that killed 166 people, including six Americans.
Hafiz Saeed has been imprisoned since 2019 in Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat Jail after being convicted in multiple terror-financing cases. However, despite his incarceration, the PMML has remained politically active in Punjab, organising rallies and outreach programs under apparent government tolerance.
Chaudhry’s meeting comes just months after Punjab Assembly Speaker Malik Ahmad Khan attended a PMML rally in Kasur district earlier this year, where he publicly praised Hafiz Saeed for his “social and religious contributions.”
Analysts say Chaudhry’s outreach to PMML leaders further underscores Pakistan’s continued policy of mainstreaming extremist groups by allowing them political space rather than dismantling their networks. The move comes at a delicate time, as Pakistan faces heightened scrutiny from global watchdogs for failing to curb terror financing and cross-border militancy.
The timing is also significant. Following the Pahalgam terror attack in India’s Jammu and Kashmir in May, which left 26 dead, New Delhi accused Islamabad of allowing terror groups to regroup under political or social fronts. Since then, PMML has intensified its public activities — reportedly under tacit government backing.
While neither the Pakistani government nor the Interior Ministry has officially commented on Chaudhry’s visit, diplomatic observers say the optics are unmistakable: a sitting federal minister’s engagement with a political outfit founded by a UN-designated terrorist reinforces the view that Pakistan’s establishment continues to blur the line between politics and extremism.
The meeting is likely to draw sharp criticism from India and the international community, particularly at a time when Islamabad is attempting to project itself as a responsible state actor seeking regional stability.
