LAHORE, May 21: A petition has been filed in the Lahore High Court seeking action against Muttahida Qaumi Movement chief Altaf Hussain for allegedly issuing statement contrary to ideology of Pakistan in his public address.

Petitioner-lawyer Fayaz Ahmed Mehar said in spite of being a foreigner Mr Hussain was claiming to be the MQM chief.

He said the respondent on May 12 last addressed his party workers and hurled threats at the Election Commission of Pakistan, establishment (army), the media and the politicians and also demanded Karachi be separated from the rest of the country.

He said the demand of Mr Hussain was against the Constitution and the ideology of Pakistan.

The petitioner said Political Party Order 2002 allowed the citizens of Pakistan freedom of association or form a political party.

He said Mr Hussain was not citizen of Pakistan and could not claim to be the chief of a political party that functions in the country.

The petitioner further said that according to Article 5 of the Constitution, loyalty to the state was the basic duty of every citizen.

However, he said, the language and words used by Mr Hussain in his speech were against the ideology of Pakistan.

He prayed that Mr Hussain be restrained from claiming to be the MQM chief and the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) be directed to stop all media houses from covering speeches of Mr Hussain.

The petitioner also sought court directions for bringing the MQM chief back to the country and dealing him in accordance with the law.

Opinion

Editorial

Risks ahead
Updated 02 Oct, 2026

Risks ahead

To think that the government would rather push out an elected government than grant a single prisoner some facilities does not square up rationally.
Exit from Iraq
02 Oct, 2026

Exit from Iraq

AMERICAN and British troops have once again shipped out of Iraq. On Wednesday, the foreign forces left the Arab...
Lahore’s ozone warning
02 Oct, 2026

Lahore’s ozone warning

LAHORE has received another warning that its air pollution crisis cannot be treated as a problem that begins with...
Fixing bond markets
Updated 01 Oct, 2026

Fixing bond markets

Pension funds, insurance companies, mutual funds, retail investors, and eventually, foreign investors must become bigger participants in the market.
Call centre rackets
01 Oct, 2026

Call centre rackets

A NUMBER of recent raids conducted by the authorities in different cities point to the growing threat fraudulent ...
Homeward bound
01 Oct, 2026

Homeward bound

FIVE months after Somali pirates captured an oil tanker carrying a 19-member multinational crew, Somali maritime...