KARACHI: A judicial magistrate on Tuesday discharged 24 leaders and workers of the Altaf Hussain-led Muttahida Qaumi Movement, commonly known as MQM-London, who were arrested in Karachi for allegedly violating a ban imposed under Section 144 of the criminal procedure code (CrPC).

A total of 30 MQM-L activists were arrested in Karachi and Hyderabad for holding rallies to mark their party’s ‘Youm-i-Shuhda’ on the call of their London-based leadership.

In Karachi, the investigating officer produced the 24 held activists before Judicial Magistrate (Central) Wajid Ali Channa.

He submitted that they had committed an offence under Section 188 (disobedience to an order lawfully promulgated by a public servant) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) by organising a gathering near Mukka Chowk in Azizabad in violation of Section 144.

Hyderabad police register sedition case against six party workers; ATC sends them to prison on judicial remand

The IO also asked the court to send all the suspects to prison on judicial remand till Dec 23.

However, defence counsel Jamal Nazir Panhwar requested the court to discharge the suspects under Section 63 (discharge of person apprehended) of the CrPC.

After hearing the IO and defence counsel, the court discharged the 24 MQM-L men against a personal bond of Rs50,000 each.

The court noted in its order that there were no grounds to remand them in police custody or send them to prison on judicial remand.

The magistrate also directed the IO to file an investigation report within the stipulated period as per law.

A day before, police had picked up 24 MQM-L workers near Mukka Chowk in Federal B Area, when a large number of party workers and sympathisers, including women, tried to reach the Jinnah ground on the call of their London-based leadership, who asked their followers to go there and pay respect at the monument built there in memory of MQM activists and supporters killed over the years to mark ‘Youm-i-Shuhda’.

In view of the MQM-L call, the Karachi commissioner, at the request of the city police, had issued a notification and imposed a two-day ban under Section 144 of the CrPC on pillion riding of motorcycle, protests, demonstrations, rallies and assembly of more than four persons in district Central for two days.

A case was registered at the Azizabad police station under Section 188 (disobedience to an order lawfully promulgated by a public servant) of the PPC.

Six Hyderabad activists sent

to prison in sedition case

Unlike their colleagues in Karachi, the six activists held a day before in Hyderabad were booked in a terrorism and sedition case.

The police produced the six MQM-L activists — Mohammad Yamin, Abdul Majeed, alias Bhola, Mohammad Ashfaq, Mohammad Arsalan, Syed Ahsan Warsi and Mohammad Akbar Shaikh — before the antiterrorism court in Hyderabad.

The IO asked the ATC judge to remand the suspects in police custody for 14 days.

However, defence counsel Shakeel Zai said that the judge sent them to prison on eight-day judicial remand.

The MQM-L activists were booked in a case registered at the Fort police station on behalf of the state under Sections 123-A (condemnation of the creation of the State, and advocacy of abolition of its sovereignty), 124-A (sedition) of the Pakistan penal Code read with Sections 6/7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1997.

The FIR against them stated that they tried to pay their respect to their slain party workers by visiting the Shuhda graveyard in Pucca Qilla. However, the police did not allow them to proceed and they raised anti-state slogans.

Banker remanded in Chinese convoy attack case

Another ATC in Karachi on Tuesday remanded a bank employee in police custody in a case pertaining to suicide bombing targeting a Chinese convoy near Karachi airport.

The IO brought suspect Bilal, said to be associated with a private bank as a business development officer in Hub, to the ATC court in Clifton and asked the judge to remand him in the custody of the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) for 14 days for further interrogation.

However, the court remanded him in CTD custody until Saturday and directed the IO to submit a progress report at the next hearing.

The police had registered a second FIR on the alleged confession made by Javaid, implicating the banker and a trader under Sections 302 (murder), 324 (attempted murder), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees) and 34 (common intention) of the PPC read with Section 3/4 of the Explosives Substances Act 1908 and Sections 7, 11-F and 21-I of the ATA.

Published in Dawn, December 11th, 2024