KARACHI: A lawyer on Tuesday informed the Sindh High Court that his client, a former lawmaker of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, was taken into custody for filing a petition seeking removal of a ban on media coverage of party founder Altaf Husain.

Former MQM MPA Nisar Ahmed Panhwar had last week filed the petition before the SHC stating that the ban on Mr Hussain was imposed in violation of several provisions of the Constitution and pleaded to lift the same.

When the matter came up for hearing on Tuesday, a two-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Ahmed Ali M. Shaikh questioned the maintainability of the petition.

The chief justice asked about the written order regarding the ban and inquired whether the petitioner got any authority letter to move court on behalf of any other person.

The bench also inquired about the absence of Mr Panhwar. Upon which, his lawyer Khalid Mumtaz replied that his client was picked up last night and the court might take a suo motu notice against his detention.

While asking him about the provision that allowed a high court to take a suo motu notice, the bench directed the petitioner’s lawyer to satisfy it about the maintainability of the petition on the next hearing to be fixed by its office later.

Citing the federal interior, information and law secretaries and the Pakistan Media Regulatory Authority as respondents, the petitioner in his petition contended that the ban on media coverage of MQM founder was made in violation of Articles 4, 17, 19 and 25 of the Constitution.

He stated that Mr Hussain had never violated any provision of law, but due to misinterpretation of his speeches, a ban was imposed against him, which was not sustainable.

The MQM founder time and again apologised politically from all quarters concerned in respect of any misunderstanding and misinterpretation of his speeches and therefore, he was entitled to take part in political activities, it maintained.

The petition further stated that Mr Hussain had not been convicted on the ground of hate speech in the UK as well as in Pakistan and sought directive for respondents to remove the ban.

Published in Dawn, August 31st, 2022

Opinion

Editorial

Judiciary in the dock
Updated 22 Feb, 2025

Judiciary in the dock

Recent developments in SC and IHC certainly seem to have lent credibility to perception that judges perceived as a 'threat’ are being sidelined.
Paying taxes
22 Feb, 2025

Paying taxes

FINANCE Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb’s ‘hard talk’ at a retail business conference on Thursday was long ...
Rules for thee
22 Feb, 2025

Rules for thee

IT was a year ago when, in the tumultuous aftermath of the 2024 elections, the state banned X. Today, it remains...
Ukraine initiative
Updated 21 Feb, 2025

Ukraine initiative

Whether Trump’s Ukraine peace initiative succeeds or not, it will be difficult for Kyiv, Europe to face Russian military machine without US support.
High cost of SOEs
21 Feb, 2025

High cost of SOEs

THERE are losses and then some. The finance ministry’s latest overview of the federally owned state enterprises...
Poor impression
21 Feb, 2025

Poor impression

RECENT developments in the Senate have provided cause for concern on how parliamentary business is being conducted....