LAHORE: The Lahore High Court ordered the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) and the Press Council of Pakistan (PCP) on Monday to ensure a complete blackout of all activities of MQM chief Altaf Hussain in both electronic and print media.

A full bench of the court headed by Justice Syed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi issued the order on three identical petitions seeking a ban on media coverage of Altaf Hussain’s speeches for his alleged remarks against state institutions, including the army and Rangers.

They also sought proceedings against the MQM chief under Article 6 of the Constitution and disqualification of legislators of the party. The petitions filed by Advocate Aftab Virk, Abdullah Malik and others argued that Mr Hussain was a British national and no foreign citizen could head a political party in Pakistan under the Political Parties Act. He has no right to deliver speeches on television channels in Pakistan.

Pemra’s legal adviser submitted to the court on Monday a May 1 notification issued under Section 27 of the authority’s ordinance asking all television channels to stop airing hate speeches.

The petitioners’ counsel contended that the video clips presented before the court contained sufficient material to establish that Mr Hussain’s speeches were hazardous to the integrity and sovereignty of the country. By making speeches against the armed forces and other law-enforcement agencies, the MQM chief had tried to ridicule the entire nation in the eyes of the international community, he said.

The counsel argued that the Pemra directive was of a general nature and did not contain any specific reference to Hussain’s speeches and, therefore, served no purpose.

The court observed that there was sufficient material on record to order a complete blackout of the activities of Altaf Hussain, including hate speeches, news regarding his activities as well as display of his picture on the electronic media.

The court directed the additional attorney general to convey the order to the PCP chairman for its immediate compliance by the print media.

The court adjourned the hearing to Sept 18.

The law officer said the requisite report and comments would be submitted in the light of the court’s previous order.

At the last hearing, the court had sought a report on the status of Altaf Hussain’s nationality.

Published in Dawn, September 8th, 2015

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