Interior ministry put on notice over plea seeking ban on MQM

The Sindh High Court issued fresh notices to the interior ministry, Muttahida Qaumi Movement legislators and others on Thursday on a petition seeking a ban on the political party and the disqualification of its legislators over the anti-state speech that MQM founder Altaf Hussain made by phone at a hunger strike camp on August 22.

Moulvi Iqbal Haider submitted in the petition that MQM MNAs and MPAs heard the anti-state speech in which Hussain uttered highly objectionable remarks against the solidarity, integrity and security of the country. He said that the MQM legislators had neither agitated nor raised any slogans against their party’s founder, but for the sake of saving their skin they had disassociated with themselves from the speech.

He further submitted that the federation of Pakistan was duty-bound to issue a notification banning the MQM in terms of articles 5, 5 and 17(2) of the constitution as its legislators got votes on the kite symbol in the name of Hussain, who had nominated them to contest the elections of the Senate and the national and provincial assemblies. 

He contended that after Hussain’s speech, all MQM parliamentarians had no right to keep their parliamentarian office in any manner and they all were required to be prosecuted in terms of Section 11-F of the Anti Terrorism Act read with Article 6 of the constitution. He stated that the federal and provincial governments were ignoring the issue and were not taking action despite the fact that the law did not permit them to remain silent. According to the petitioner, it is a requirement of the law in terms of the Supreme Court’s judgment in the Abdul Wali Khan case that the MQM and its elected members of parliament be disqualified and their seats declared vacant by the election commission after taking the necessary action in accordance with the law. 

He asked the court to declare that MQM was required to be declared an unlawful organisation after the anti-state speech by its leader, which, he said, amounted to disloyalty to the state. He said the federal government was bound to take action under the law against the MQM and its parliamentarians in terms of Article 5 of the constitution.

A division bench, headed by Chief Justice Sajjad Ali Shah, asked the petitioner to satisfy the court with regard to the maintainability of the petition and explain how the court could intervene in the matter with regard to the imposition of a ban on the political party. The court, adjourning the matter, repeated notices to the ministry of interior and MQM legislators and others for their comments. The ministry of law filed comments in the petition mentioning that it had nothing to do with banning the MQM, as the issue related to the ministry of interior.