Hate speech case: Police submit charge sheet against MQM-London leaders

Police maintain Professor Hasan Zafar and Amjadullah Khan were involved in facilitating and praising the cited speech

KARACHI: The police submitted a charge sheet on Thursday against two Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM)- London leaders in a case pertaining to the alleged hate speech of their party chief Altaf Hussain.

In the final charge sheet submitted to the anti-terrorism courts’ administrative judge, the police maintained that Professor Hasan Zafar and Amjadullah Khan were involved in facilitating and praising the cited speech.

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According to the prosecution, the MQM founder threatened military officials, particularly the former Sindh Rangers director-general Major-General Bilal Akbar, for arresting his party workers during the ongoing targeted operation in the city.

The speech was delivered at MQM headquarters Nine Zero, which now stands sealed, via telephone from London on July 29 last year. In the same speech, Altaf also allegedly incited his party workers to extort money from traders.

The police mentioned that Altaf, MQM-Pakistan chief Dr Farooq Sattar, leaders of the party Khushbakht Shujaat, Aminul Haq, Khawaja Izhar, Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui and others were absconding. They could not arrested, the law enforcement agency added.

The judge, accepting the charge sheet, sent the case for trial to an ATC.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 17^th, 2017.