Hate speech cases: ATC acquits Farooq Sattar, Wasim Akhtar and others

KARACHI: Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Karachi acquitted Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leaders in nearly two dozen cases against pertaining to incendiary speeches on Monday. ATC acquitted Dr Farooq Sattar, former Karachi Mayor Wasim Akhtar, Rauf Siddiqui and Qamar in two cases.

These cases were registered by Suhrab Goth Police in 2015 in which MQM leaders filed acquittal petitions. Latif Pasha, the lawyer of MQM leaders, maintained in the court that 23 cases could be registered in different areas. In October 2018, the ATC-I judge had amalgamated around 23 identical FIRs registered at different police stations in the city against the MQM leaders for allegedly facilitating a highly provocative speech of their London-based chief against the country's security establishment.

MQM leaders including Dr Farooq Sattar, former Karachi Mayor Wasim Akhtar, Amir Khan, Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, Rauf Siddiqui, Rashid Godil, Khawaja Izharul Hasan, Gul Faraz Khattak, Salman Mujahid, Abdul Qadir Khanzada, Khushbakht Shujaat, Shahid Pasha, Qamar Mansoor, and Kanwar Naveed along with nearly 200 party workers, have been booked in the identical cases. It is pertinent to note that the incendiary speeches were made by party founder Altaf Hussain via video link on August 22, 2016.