No return?: MQM asks SC to excuse Altaf from appearing in court

MQM chief had been summoned for a "contemptuous and threatening" telephonic address.

KARACHI: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) has filed a petition in the Supreme Court for granting immunity to their chief Altaf Hussain, Express News reported on Friday.

The petition was filed in the Supreme Court’s Karachi registry.

Altaf was issued a contempt of court notice by the Supreme Court in December for a "contemptuous and threatening" telephonic address earlier.

Barrister Mohammad Farogh Naseem and Qazi Khalid filed the petition on behalf of the party.

Their stance was based on the deteriorating security situation in the country. They gave reference to Benazir Bhutto, who was targeted by terrorists when she returned to Pakistan and Federal Minister Bashir Bilour, who was killed in a suicide bombing.

They stated that Altaf’s followers were, therefore, not in favour of his return and requested that either Farogh Naseem or Farooq Sattar be allowed to represent their leader.

Altaf Hussain, in his telephonic address, had termed the judges’ remarks “unconstitutional” and “undemocratic” and that they amounted to contempt for the mandate given by the people of Karachi and presented an “open enmity” for the metropolitan.

The chief justice had said that the speech given by Altaf Hussain after the delimitation order was not only contemptuous but also held a note of threat.