ATC declares MQM chief Altaf Hussain an absconder

Issues verdict after police submits that the suspect was out of country

KARACHI: An anti-terrorism court  has declared Altaf Hussain an absconder after police submitted a report stating that the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief could not be found in the country as he lived abroad.

During the hearing, the police also produced a charge sheet for "criminal intimidation" which stated that Altaf was accused of issuing life threats to Rangers spokesperson, Colonel Tahir Mehmood, and other personnel of the law enforcement agency.

Read: Rangers file case against MQM chief Altaf Hussain

The case was registered at the Civil Lines Police Station on the request of Colonel Mehmood under the Anti-Terrorism Act with sections pertaining to issuing threats to LEAs.

In the application, Rangers upheld that the MQM chief, in an interview with a private television channel following the raid, threatened the personnel involved in the operation. He said, “The have-beens of today in the paramilitary force will become the had-beens.”

Read: Hard and abrasive: Altaf criticises Rangers’ role in Karachi

In yet another such statement on July 12, the MQM chief likened the conduct of the paramilitary force with the Indian army's treatment of people in Indian Kashmir.

The statement came a couple of hours after the Rangers’ spokesperson said details of the raid at Nine Zero would be unveiled soon.

Read: One dead, several injured as Rangers raid MQM headquarters

In a targeted operation on March 11, Rangers raided the headquarters, with the party claiming that several leaders had been arrested. The LEA also claimed that a huge cache of arms were recovered from there.