Police, Rangers allow MQM-H to carry out election campaign

SHC disposed of the plea after hearing the arguments of both lawyers.

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court’s Justice Faisal Arab has directed the police and Rangers to allow the Mohajir Qaumi Movement-Haqiqi from running its election campaign. The party will be contesting under the name of Mohajir Qaumi Movement - Pakistan.

This order came on Monday days after the party leadership was allegedly restricted from entering into its former strongholds to launch its election campaign ahead of the general elections. This led the MQM-H chief Afaq Ahmed to move the court, complaining he was being denied his right to conduct a campaign.

Ahmed said that his party had fielded candidates for the May 11 elections, but the administration had restrained them from electioneering activities in parts of city.



As a candidate for two National Assembly constituencies - NA-251 and NA-255 - Ahmed wants to start his campaign but the administration stopped party members from entering a certain area, he told the judges in his plea.

MQM-H chief alleged that the police and Rangers had stopped him from opening an election office in Mehmoodabad. An adviser to the caretaker chief minister said on record that Ahmed has been restrained due to the law and order situation in the city, advocate Sohail Hameed said.

On Monday, SSP Clifton Sarfaraz Nawaz said the petitioner has already been provided security at his residence, which includes a police van with guards, a van with the staff of Security Zone-II, a van with personnel from the Rapid Response Force.

“Whenever the petitioner moves out for his election campaign, an armoured personnel carrier and police vans will be provided,” the officer assured in writing. Shahbaz, the law officer for Pakistan Rangers, also assured the Rangers would not stop Ahmed from conducting election campaign.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 30^th, 2013.