KARACHI: An anti-terrorism court has asked the investigating officer to approach the Interior Ministry to put Muttahida Qaumi Movement leader Dr Farooq Sattar, Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui and TV anchor Amir Liaquat Hussain on the exit control list (ECL).
Dr Sattar, famed TV anchor Amir Liaquat and other MQM leaders are facing charges of facilitating, organizing and listening to the incendiary speech of MQM founder Altaf Hussain against the national security agencies.
The ATC-II came down hard on the investigating officer for failing to nab the absconders. It accepted the request of AIG legal Mazhar Alvi for some time to file reply on behalf of the city police chief over his forces’ failure to arrest the absconders.
The judge once again directed the IO to arrest the absconding accused and present them in court at the next hearing.
The hearing was put off till March 18.
Earlier, the court had issued a show-cause notice to SSP South for failing to ensure the arrest of absconding MQM leaders and others in a case pertaining to anti-state speech.
It observed that time and again non-bailable warrants for the arrest of Altaf Hussain and other party leaders have been issued but the police had failed to arrest them.
It also asked the IO to approach the interior ministry to get the red warrants issued through Interpol for the arrest of the MQM founder.
The Artillery Maidan police had registered two cases regarding Aug 22 anti-state speech against Hussain, Dr Sattar and other MQM leaders and workers.
The case 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.
Meanwhile, the same court granted the application filed by MQM lawmaker Kanwar Naveen Jameel seeking permission to travel abroad. The court allowed the applicant to leave the country for fifteen days against surety bonds of Rs 2 million.
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