KARACHI: After a trial court ordered the Rangers Director General to round up absconding Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P) chief Dr Farooq Sattar and leader Amir Khan, the two obtained protective bail in multiple cases related to hate speech on Monday. Dr Farooq Sattar and Amir Khan have been facing charges of listening and facilitating the speeches made by MQM London chief Altaf Hussain where he railed against the military establishment and other security institutions after initiation of Karachi operation. He was accused of inciting the party workers to attack the office of a media house. Dr Sattar was booked in as many as 31 cases and Khan in four identical cases relating to hate speeches of their party chief. A two-judge bench headed by Justice Salahuddin Panhwar granted one-month protective bail to both leaders against a surety of Rs50, 000 in each case. It directed the applicants to surrender before the relevant trial court. The MQM leaders through their counsel Dr Faroogh Naseem contended that they had learned through the media that an anti-terrorism court had issued non-bailable warrants for their arrest, however, they haven’t received any such warrant. They added they would have appeared before the trial court to face charges against them had they received court summons. The applicants requested the judges to grant them bail to surrender before the trial court. After the failure of police to arrest Dr Sattar and Khan despite its repeated orders, an anti-terrorism court had asked the Rangers to arrest and produce them two before it. Earlier Sattar was arrested and later released after a brief detention on reportedly high-level political intervention. Police said he was arrested in connection with cases related to anti-state and hate speech of MQM founder on Aug 22 that triggered a violent protest and attack on a media house. After his release, the Sindh chief minister’s spokesman had said that Sattar escaped when a police team tried to arrest him following his arrest warrants issue by court. The two main cases regarding incendiary speech and subsequent violence on Aug 22, last year, were lodged at the Artillery Maidan police station. The cases were lodged under Sections 120-B (punishment for criminal conspiracy), 121-A (conspiracy to commit offences punishable by section 121), 123-A (condemnation of the creation of the state and advocacy of abolition of its sovereignty), 124-A (sedition) and 109 (abetment) of the Pakistan Penal Code, Section 25 of Telegraph Act read with Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997. The court had earlier directed the IO to approach the interior ministry to get the red warrants issued for the arrest of Altaf Hussain for delivering anti-state speech. The investigating officer informed the judge that the warrants could not be executed against Hussain as he was living in London. The court adjourned the hearing of the case till April 6.