New Delhi: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has rejected the application of Milli Muslim League (MML), the political front of Hafiz Saeed-led Jamaat-ud Dawa (JuD) for registration as a mainstream political party.

The decision was taken on basis of a letter that the Pakistan home ministry had sent to ECP last month asking it to avoid registration of MML as a political party for its ties to banned militant outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), the parent organization of JuD.

While hearing MML lawyer's arguments on the matter, chief election commissioner Saradar Muhammad Raza Khan suggested that the party should clear its name with the home ministry before applying for registration.

"Under which law the party should consult the interior ministry when it had fulfilled the set criteria of the ECP for any political party's registration," MML's counsel questioned the Khan-headed five-member panel of ECP.

"The interior ministry's letter mentions that the MML is backed by banned terrorist outfits," the CEC said before rejecting MML's application.

"The real terrorists are those who question the finality of prophethood," the MML lawyer said, referring to a recent amendment in the election law that had changed the word "oath" with "declaration" about the finality of Prophet Muhammad in the election nomination papers. The move had created a stir and the government had to soon revise the law to avoid public wrath.

In September, the interior ministry had asked the ECP to ban MML, claiming that the party is backed by Hafiz Saeed, who carries a $10 million US bounty on his head for his alleged involvement in the 2008 terrorist attacks in India. Saeed was put under house arrest earlier this year. The JuD had launched the MML this year in July.

Following Saeed's arrest, JuD had started its activities under the banner of Tehreek-e-Azadi Jammu & Kashmir but that too was banned and added to the list of proscribed organizations in July.