Sedition and terrorism cases: SHC grants bail to MQM leader Wasim Akhtar

Several party leaders were booked in FIRs for listening to their party chief's speeches against national institutions

KARACHI: Police cannot arrest the Muttahida Qaumi Movement's (MQM) senior leader and mayor nominee for Karachi, Wasim Akhtar, on sedition and terrorism charges until January 13, as the Sindh High Court (SHC) granted bail in two such cases.

Headed by Justice Sadiq Hussain Bhatti, the court ordered the MQM leader to furnish surety of Rs50,000 each in two cases lodged against him at Sohrab Goth and Site Super Highway police stations.

He had approached the high court for bail soon after several party leaders were booked in various FIRs — two of them lodged in Karachi - for allegedly listening to their party chief's speeches against national institutions.



In Karachi, two FIRs were lodged at the Sohrab Goth and Super Highway police stations under sections 123-A, 124-A of the Pakistan Penal Code, read with section 25 of the Telegraph Act and sections 6/7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act.

In the FIRs, the complainants, Umar Khan and Muhabbat Khan, had alleged that during a current affairs programme on TV, Akhtar had supported Altaf Hussain's statement against several federal institutions, the Inter-Services Intelligence and the Military Intelligence, Operation Zarb-e-Azb and the Karachi operation.

On the contrary, Akhtar said in early October that he had come to know about the registration of cases under 'false' allegations. He explained that the complaints, bogus allegations of disloyalty and persuading public to incitement against him.



The court was informed that the MQM lawmakers had resigned from the national and provincial assemblies due to political differences.

He had claimed that the accusations of sedition and terrorism levelled in the FIRs against him were aimed at pressuring the MQM leaders to re-join the assemblies. The court was pleaded to quash the FIRs. It was also requested to restrain the SHOs from harassing the petitioner, and to further restrain police from registering any case against him.

On Wednesday, the bench granted interim bail before arrest until January 18, subject to furnishing surety in sum of Rs50,000 each in two cases. Also, it issued notices to the provincial prosecutor-general to file comments on the next date of hearing.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 7th, 2016.