Muttahida Qaumi Council’s final match to be played soon, claims Sattar

Crediting Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) workers and security institutions for the holding of eight Pakistan Super League (PSL) matches in Karachi, former party chief Farooq Sattar said on Saturday that soon the final of the Muttahida Qaumi Council (MQC) would also be played in the city.

Sattar, who is spearheading the MQC, said that many political and apolitical people would join him “for the betterment of the city”. He added that the doors of his organisation were open for all including his disgruntled colleagues at MQM-Pakistan who have sacked his party membership.

He was speaking to media after his court appearance at the Anti-Terrorism Courts complex in hate speech cases which got adjourned till April 6 due to the absence of a witness.

He along with other leaders of the MQM-P, including senior deputy convener Amir Khan and deputy convener Kanwar Naveed Jameel, have been accused of facilitating the controversial August 22 speech of their party founder Altaf Hussain in which he spoke against the country’s military institutions and allegedly instigated his party workers to attack media houses over a media ban on him by the Lahore High Court.

Sattar said that the occurrence of PSL matches in Karachi was a good gesture for the residents that sports has returned to their city after a hiatus. He said that the credit for this went to all those who gave sacrifices to restore peace in the city and they included state security institutions and workers of his former party.

When asked which team was his favourite, he on a lighter note quoted a dialogue from Bollywood’s Aamir Khan-starrer PK movie “Sarfaraz dhoka nahi dega (Sarfaraz would not betray)” while referring to Quetta Gladiators captain Sarfaraz Ahmed. He, however, added that Karachi Kings was his favourite too.

Speaking of the MQC which he intends to form to unite all factions of the MQM, including the MQM-P, Mohajir Qaumi Movement-Haqiqi and Pak Sarzameen Party, he said that a large number of people, including prominent social and rights activists, would join the council and it would begin working formally.

Meanwhile, he appeared critical of the state policies and said that they (those who formed the MQM-P) had cut off ties with their leader after August 22 and had stood with the country’s institutions, yet they were being dragged to courts.

Referring to tension between India and Pakistan, he said that he and his colleagues had trust in the armed forces that they would defend the homeland.

MPA Rauf Siddiqui also spoke to the media over this. He said that they have been implicated in the cases on the pretext that they facilitated the deliverance of the controversial speech and lauded its content. He said, “I wish to see the day when witnesses will go to jail directly from courts for their false testimonies.”

About the PSL, he said that it was good that sports events like this had been held which indicated that things were going towards betterment.

He opined that though he was not convinced with the slogan that sports was life. “Sports should remain sports only,” he added.

JIT notification on KKF

The Federal Investigation Agency submitted to the ATC-II a notification pertaining to the formation of a joint investigation team to probe into suspected money laundering done through the MQM-backed Khidmat-e-Khalq Foundation.

The FIA prosecutor also complained about alleged non-cooperation from a suspect, former senator Ahmed Ali, to which the judge asked the suspect to do the needful. The court had previously restrained the agency from arresting him.

MQM founder Altaf Hussain, former senator Babar Ghori, Karachi deputy mayor Arshad Bohra, former MNA Khawaja Sohail Mansoor and others have been accused of involvement in money laundering.

According to the prosecution, the suspects used the charity wing of their party to send money out of the country illegally. The court has adjourned the case till April 12.