Provocative speech case: ATC acquits MQM Senator Tahir Mashhadi

He was accused of facilitating, listening and praising the speech of MQM chief

KARACHI: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) acquitted on Friday Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Senator Tahir Hussain Mashhadi in a case pertaining to his party chief Altaf Hussain's outburst against the government and military establishment.

Mashhadi was accused of facilitating, listening and praising the speech of the MQM chief, in which he criticised the Sindh Rangers' role and cast doubts on the efficiency of the targeted operation in the port city. The controversial speech was aired on news channels on July 12 last year, after which around a hundred cases across the country were registered against Altaf and his comrades. In one of these cases, the party senator was also named as a suspect.

However, the police during the probe found no clue about his involvement in the alleged crime. In December, the investigating officer (IO) submitted a report before the ATC-I judge, Bashir Ahmed Khoso, informing that Mashhadi was left out in the case for lack of evidences.

The IO told the court that the senator was not charge-sheeted in the case and was released under section 169 (release of accused when evidence deficient) of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

The senator was not found among the audience at the MQM headquarters, Nine Zero, during the speech and was at his residence that day, the report stated, corroborating the statements of some witnesses.

On Friday, the ATC pronounced its verdict, which was reserved last week, and exonerated Mashhadi while accepting the report. He was on bail throughout the proceedings.

MQM chief Altaf Hussain, party leader Haider Abbas Rizvi and other party sympathisers are absconding in the case registered at New Town police station under sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 121 (waging or attempting to wage war or abetting waging of war against the country), 122 (collection of arms, etcetera, with intention of waging war), 123-A (condemnation of the creation of state and advocacy of abolition of its sovereignty) and 109 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code read with section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act and section 25-D of the Telegraph Act.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 16^th, 2016.