ISLAMABAD, Nov 19 Top leaders of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, including its chief Altaf Hussain, Parliamentary Leader in the National Assembly Dr Farooq Sattar, Federal Minister Babar Ghauri, Sindh Minister Shoaib Bokhari and a number of former lawmakers, are among the beneficiaries of the National Reconciliation Ordinance, according to the list sent by the National Accountability Bureau to the government on Thursday.

According to the list, eight cases were registered against Altaf Hussain in Mirpurkhas, Zaman Town, Kalakot, Brigade, Quaidabad and Nazimabad police stations between 1986 and 1995.

One case was registered against Dr Farooq Sattar in 1992 in Korangi police station, while four in Quaidabad, Aziz Bhatti, Landhi and Korangi police stations in 1994.

Six cases were registered against Shoaib Bokhari in Nazimabad, Orangi Town, Korangi, Mominabad and Zaman Town police stations.

Five cases were registered against MNA Waseem Akhtar in Korangi, Quaidabad, Zaman Town and Aziz Bhatti police stations.

The list included the names of Karachi's deputy Nazim, Nasrin Jalil, former adviser to the Sindh chief minister S. Manzoor Hussain, former senator Ishtiaq Azhar, former convener of the MQM Rabita Committee Dr Imran Farooq and two members of the committee Saleem Shahzad and Tariq Javed.

A former provincial minister, Qazi Khalid, who was appointed judge of the Sindh High Court on the recommendation of former chief justice Abdul Hameed Dogar, is also among the beneficiaries of NRO, according to the bureau.

Former members of the Sindh Assembly Azhar Mian, Irshad Baig, Jawed Akhtar, Dr Sagheer Ahmed, M. Haroon Siddiqui, S. M. Mohiuddin, Abdul Qadir Lakhani, Mirza Afzal Baig, Suhail Saleem Mashahdi and Kamran Jaffery also benefited from the NRO, the list said.

Ajmal Dehlvi is also on the list of beneficiaries.

The names of certain people, including Ishtiaq Azhar and Khalid Murtaza, appeared on the list more than once. Khalid Murtaza was a leading trade unionist of the Pakistan Steel Mills. He was paralysed in alleged firing by Rangers in early 90s and is currently working in MQM's Khidmat-i-Khalq Foundation.

The names of former MNA Shaikh Liaquat Hussain, who passed away recently, former MPA Afzal Anwar, who expired some 4-5 years ago, and former MNA and member of the Rabita Committee Hassan Musanna Alvi, who died last year, are also on the list.

Other NRO beneficiaries belonging to the MQM are former president of the Karachi Bar Association, Amin Lakhani, and Liaquatabad town nazim Usama Qadri, the NAB said.

Rabita Committee member Kanwar Khalid Younus told Dawn that almost all cases against leaders and workers of the MQM were criminal in nature. He said it was easy to book one in a criminal case and FIRs were registered in one go.

He said there were no cases of financial irregularity against the MQM leadership as one had to substantiate the charges with evidence.

He said 94 criminal cases were registered against him and he contested all of them and got himself cleared. He said his party would fight any cases brought against its leaders by the government.