SHC dismisses petition seeking ban on MQM

Author: Yousaf Katpar

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court threw out a petition seeking a ban on the Muttahida Qaumi Movement and the disqualification of its lawmakers for allegedly facilitating a hate speech by the party founder, Altaf Hussain on Thursday .

A division bench headed by Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi dismissed the petition through a short order.

A civil rights campaigner petitioned in the high court, naming cabinet secretary, Election Commission of Pakistan and the MPAs and MNAs of the MQM as respondents.

In the petition, he submitted that the MQM lawmakers organized a hunger strike camp outside the Karachi Press Club and listened to Altaf Hussain’s anti-state speech made on August 22, this year, in which he uttered highly objectionable remarks against the country’s solidarity, integrity and security.

He told the judges that the legislators had neither agitated, nor raised any slogans against Altaf, but later disassociated themselves with the party’s London-based leader.

“The MQM lawmakers couldn’t be absolved from the offence by their decision of simply announcing their dissociation with the speech and Altaf.”

He argued that the lawmakers had no right to hold their offices in any manner and they all were required to be prosecuted in terms of Section 11-B-E-EE-11F of the Anti- Terrorism Act and Protection of Pakistan Act 2014 read with Article 6 of the constitution.

The petitioner submitted that he had sent references to the senate chairman and the speaker of the national assembly seeking their disqualification, but his references were rejected. The federal authorities were bound to issue a notification banning the MQM in terms of articles 5, 5 and 17(2) of the constitution since the legislators were elected to the assemblies on the symbol in the name of Altaf. Moreover, Altaf had nominated them to contest the elections.

The court was pleaded to declare that the authorities have failed to decide the references in terms of Article 63(2) read with Article 5 of the constitution.

The petitioner had requested the judges to order the speaker of the provincial and national assemblies and the senate chairman to decide the reference and issue notification for disqualifying the MQM parliamentarians.