KARACHI: Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) issued non-bailable warrants for the arrest of 25 senior leaders of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) in a case registered against them for facilitating Altaf Hussain’s July 12 speech critical of the military establishment.
The MQM leaders were named in different FIRs by private complainants who alleged that the applicants had attended a public gathering and listened to Altaf Hussain’s outburst against the security agencies on July 12 this year.
In his speech, Hussain had accused the paramilitary forces of torturing and killing his party workers.
Compiled on the basis of FIRs registered against the MQM leaders at police stations in Malir cantonment, Sukhan, Bin Qasim Town, New Town and Steel Town, Karachi police presented before the ATC a charge sheet in which the MQM leaders were charged under Section 12 (collection of evidence in the absence of accused) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).
Accepting the charge sheet, ATC-I judge Bashir Ahmed Khoso issued non-bailable arrest warrants for 25 MQM leaders, including MQM chief Altaf Hussain, MQM’s mayoral candidate for Karachi Waseem Akhtar and senior party leaders Farooq Sattar, Khawaja Izharul Hassan, Rauf Siddiqui, Qamar Mansoor, Rehan Hashmi , Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, Rasheed Godil, Kaiful Wara and others.
