NBWs out for Farooq Sattar, 12 other MQM leaders

Karachi

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Monday issued non-bailable warrants of arrest against 12 leaders of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) including Dr Farooq Sattar, Khwaja Izharul Hassan and Mehfoozyar Khan for protesting in front of the Chief Minister House in June.

The court also ordered to produce detained MQM mayor Waseem Akhtar in this case at the next hearing.

It was alleged that MQM workers led by the central leaders had scaled containers and pushed aside barricades on June 5 to reach the CM House, where they held a sit-in to protest against the shortage of water in city.

The then chief minister, Syed Qaim Ali Shah, had termed it a ‘wrong precedent’ set by the MQM, while the police authorities had noted it as a ‘violation’ of an understanding they had reached with the party.

The protesters, including women, led by Dr Sattar, Akhtar, opposition leader in Sindh Assembly Khawaja Izharul Hasan and MNA Khalid Maqool Siddiqui had gathered outside the KPC before marching towards the CM’s official residence.

The protesters carried placards and banners with slogans demanding to be provided water, accelerating work on the K-IV project as well as calling for local government powers to be delegated to the city’s representatives.

Later an understanding was reached among Hasan, Siddiqui, two other MQM leaders Muhammad Hussain and Salman Mujahid, in a meeting held with provincial minister Syed Nasir Shah, PPP leader Waqar Mehdi, city commissioner Aijaz Ahmed Khan and managing director of the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board Misbahuddin Farid at the Chief Minister’s House. 

All roads leading to the CM House were barricaded till the time the protest went on, causing immense inconvenience to citizens.

Bail pleas transferred 

PPI adds:  The administrative judge of the anti-terrorism courts (ATC) on Monday transferred the bail pleas of three under-detention female MQM workers to the ATC-VIII for hearing.

The female MQM workers, Rabia, Quratulain and Sumera were arrested for their involvement in the August 22 attack on a private news channel. All three had filed bail pleas with the administrative judge through their counsel, who had told the court that his clients were innocent and were not even present on the scene on the day of the attack.

The counsel submitted that the charges against the three female workers were baseless and requested that they be granted bail. The administrative judge transferred the bail pleas to ATC-VIII for hearing and directed the concerned judge to decide the pleas on merit.