Dozens of leaders and elected representatives of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement began a 12-hour token hunger strike earlier yesterday against a Lahore High Court ban on the broadcasting of party chief Altaf Hussain’s speeches.
Last year in August, a full bench of the LHC while hearing petitions against the MQM chief’s controversial remarks against the armed forces had directed the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) to ensure a complete ban on telecast of his speeches till further order. The ban is still in place despite a passage of six months and the MQM is using different methods to lodge its protest within the country and other parts of the world.
The MQM set up a camp of hunger strike outside the Karachi Press Club, where around 200 party leaders, members of the national and provincial assembly, elected chairmen and vice chairmen of six Karachi districts and a few office-bearers sat for 12 hours — from 11am to 11pm — on Friday. The token hunger strike would continue for three more days.
MQM spokesman Amin-ul-Haq told the media that it was planned that a select-group of 50 people comprising leaders and elected representatives of all ethnic backgrounds and minorities would go on hunger strike daily, but the number rose to 200 by 11am on Friday.
“We have not involved our workers in this token hunger strike though our leaders, parliamentarians and others would sit in the camp on a rotational basis.”
Senior MQM leader Dr Farooq Sattar told the media at the camp that the protest was aimed at expressing solidarity with the party chief and drawing the attention of political parties and human rights organisations towards the ‘undemocratic and unconstitutional’ media ban.
He appealed to rights bodies to raise their voice against the media blackout of Mr Hussain.
Dr Sattar, who is one of the two senior deputy conveners of the MQM coordination committee, said usually the government suppressed the voice of its opponents and the affected parties approach courts to get relief. But in this case it became the other way round, he added.
He said the ban was being extended by the court at every hearing, but expressed the hope that it would not be extended this time.
The protesters were also addressed by Mr Hussain over the phone from London. He claimed that he never used any impolite language against the armed forces and reiterated that the Pakistan Army was his own (country’s) army.
Read : Ominous warning: Altaf Hussain tells citizens to ‘stock up on food’
