"Whether our people win or not doesn’t really matter. We are in it for the long haul."

This quote is from a MML worker, the electoral wing of the banned Jamaat-ud-Dawa. The number of aspirants belonging to banned outfits competing in the July election is significantly large.

Why is this so?

To cite a Dawn report this morning:

Political commentators argue that banned outfits could not be in the electoral race without the backing of the powerful establishment.

Read the rest here.