Six MQM-P leaders walk free in provocative speech case

KARACHI: Six MQM-P leaders were acquitted by an anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Wednesday in three cases registered under the charges of being complicit in broadcasting allegedly seditious rhetoric by MQM supremo Altaf Hussain in 2016.

The cases were filed against these politicians with Sachchal, Malir, and Brigade police stations for not only facilitating but also listening to their London-based party founder's long rabble-rousing deliveries.

Farooq Sattar, the former MQM convener and MQM-P organisational restoration committee head, is also among the acquitted leaders that include Wasim Akhtar, Khawaja Izharul Hassan, Javed Rahim, Mehmood Abdul Razzaq, and Amir Khan

When the cases were filed, the MQM leaders were declared proclaimed offenders by the court. They were booked for conspiring against the state, inciting the masses against national institutions, and fueling a rebellion in the country.

Abdur Rauf Siddiqui and Qamar Mansoor have been acquitted in one case each while Salman Mujahid Baloch in two cases.