MQM urges Sindh government to quash FIRs

Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) has termed all charges against its leadership including Dr Farooq Sattar politically-motivated and urged Sindh government to quash first information reports (FIRs) registered against them. The MQM-P spokesperson Aminul Haq told Business Recorder on Saturday that law enforcement agencies were harassing the party leadership to stall its foundation day celebrations.
"All the cases against Dr Farooq Sattar and other leaders are politically motivated and law enforcing agencies should stop harassing our leaders and workers," he said. Haq said the MQM-P was under intense pressure from 'some quarters' to abandon all its political activities in Karachi and Hyderabad despite the fact that it is the political right of his party to organise rallies and political gatherings.
He said that efforts are being made to break vote bank of MQM-P and strengthen Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP) in Karachi and Hyderabad. Large contingents of Rangers also reached Nine-Zero on Saturday ahead of the 33rd foundation day of the party. The Rangers blocked the roads going to Yadgar-e-Shohda near Nine-Zero. Sattar was picked up in a raid on Friday by Karachi police when he was returning after attending a private wedding ceremony. He was, however, released after a brief detention of an hour.
On Saturday, an anti-terrorism court in Karachi once again declared Farooq Sattar an absconder in multiple cases and ordered that he be presented before the court on Monday, March 20. Sattar and other party leaders are wanted in more than a dozen cases including the August 22 attack on a media house in Karachi in which a person was killed and several others were injured following a hate speech by the party's founder Altaf Hussain.
Over two dozen party workers were also arrested in connection with the August 22 incident while some of them have been released on bail and others are still languishing in jail, the MQM-P spokesperson said. He urged the Sindh government to release all the political workers detained in the cases of hate speech and attack on a media house. Earlier, an anti-terrorism court had also ordered to put names of Farooq Sattar and Amir Liaquat on exit control list (ECL) for their involvement in the cases.
A Sindh government official told Business Recorder that the court has ordered the police numerous times to produce Farooq Sattar and other leaders in the court but they had gone in hiding. "Farooq Sattar should either try to get bail in the cases, or get ready to go to jail," he said, adding that police may raid again to arrest him as they have to produce him in the court on Monday. To a question, he said the police do not need to get prior permission from Speaker National Assembly to arrest Farooq Sattar as the latter had already been declared an absconder in multiple cases.