High court dismisses petition against media ban on Altaf

The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Wednesday dismissed a petition against the ban on televising telephonic addresses of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) founder Altaf Hussain in Pakistan as not maintainable.

Mohammad Aftabuddin said in the petition that the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) had issued a notification on September 7, 2015, placing a ban on airing and publishing Hussain’s addresses and statements as well as showing or publishing his images in the electronic and print media.

The petitioner said Hussain had faced a trial in the UK, where the jury declared that his speeches did not encourage terrorism in Karachi from London as defined under Section 1(2) of the Terrorism Act 2006 of the UK.

He said that after Hussain’s acquittal, Pemra’s ban should be lifted because the MQM founder has already apologised for the anti-state slogans. He requested that the court direct Pemra and other relevant authorities to remove Hussain’s media ban. An SHC division bench comprising Chief Justice Ahmed Ali M Sheikh and Justice Yousuf Ali Sayeed said that the petition is not maintainable, and so they dismissed it.