KARACHI: An antiterrorism court on Wednesday acquitted six senior leaders of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement and some others in three cases pertaining to organising and listening to the controversial speeches of London-based party found Altaf Hussain in 2016.

Senior leaders Dr Farooq Sattar, Amir Khan, former Karachi mayor Wasim Akhtar, Rauf Siddiqui, Khawaja Izharul Hasan, Mehfooz Yar Khan and some others were exonerated from the charges due to lack of evidence.

Earlier in June 2021, the same set of accused persons along with several others were acquitted in 21 identical cases by an ATC. At least three cases against the central leadership are still pending trial.

On Wednesday, the ATC-I judge, who conducted the trial in the judicial complex inside the central prison, pronounced the verdict reserved after recording evidence and final arguments on acquittal applications filed by the accused persons.

Concluding six-year-long trials, the judge allowed the applications filed under Section 265-K of the criminal procedure code and acquitted them.

Earlier, defence counsel Shaukat Hayat moved the acquittal applications on behalf of the MQM leaders including Salman Baloch, Mehmood Abdul Razzaq, Muhammad Javed, stating that they had no role in the speeches, which were delivered by their party leader from London over the phone.

He argued that there was no sufficient evidence to connect his clients with the commissioning of the alleged offence. Therefore, he pleaded the judge to acquit them.

On the other hand, the state prosecutors insisted that there was sufficient material as well as ocular and forensic evidence available to corroborate the prosecution’s case and establish the role of the accused persons in the commissioning of the offences. They pleaded the court to punish them in accordance with the law.

According to the prosecution, a citizen, Nasreen Ali, had reported to the Malir City police station on Feb 26, 2016 that she was surfing the internet when she came across a video about the gathering of MQM leaders and workers, where its London-based chief Altaf Hussain was seen making remarks about the natural reproduction process of human beings in the presence of a large number of the women and used inappropriate words openly.

It further mentioned that after listening to such remarks of their leader, the female party workers felt embarrassed while their leaders continued to endorse such remarks of Altaf Hussain, who seemed to be under the influence of some intoxicant and spoke uncontrolled.

Similarly, another citizen, Dilawar Khan, had lodged a case at the Sachal police station on March 4, 2016. He also came across a video while surging the internet.

The third case was lodged by Inspector Ghulam Nabi Afridi of the Brigade police station on May 12, 2016. He stated that the MQM leaders without seeking prior permission from local administration had held a gathering for by blocking Shahrah-i-Quaideen in front of a gate of the Quaid’s mausoleum.

The prosecution alleged that Mr Hussain addressed the gathering from London in violation of the ban imposed by the Supreme Court on his telephonic speeches by using loudspeakers, wherein he hurled threats to the army, Rangers and other law enforcement agencies’ chiefs and officers by taking their names.

It further alleged that Mr Hussain by levelling baseless allegations incited his workers against the state to prompt their clash with the state institutions and spread terrorism in an attempt to sabotage the army’s Zarb-i-Azb operation.

The MQM founder and senior leaders were booked in three separate cases registered against them at the Brigade and Sachal police stations.

The FIR were lodged under Sections 120 (concealing design to commit offence punishable with imprisonment if offence be committed; if offence be not committed), 120-A (definition of criminal conspiracy), 120-B (punishment for criminal conspiracy), 121 (waging or attempting to wage war or abetting waging of war against Pakistan), 122 (collecting arms, etc., with intention of waging war against Pakistan), 123 (concealing with intent to facilitate design to wage war), 123-A (condemnation of the creation of the State, and advocacy of abolition of its sovereignty), 506-B (criminal intimidation), 509 (insulting modesty or causing sexual harassment) 109 (abetment) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code, Sections 6 and 7 of the Sound System Act, 2015, Section 25-D (penalty for causing annoyance, etc.) of the Telegraph Act, 1885 and Section 7 (punishment for acts of terrorism) of the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997.

Published in Dawn, November 3rd, 2022