ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Monday approved a petition for hearing seeking ban on the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P).
A three-member bench of the ECP headed by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Justice (r) Sardar Muhammad Raza heard the petition.
Petitioner Muhammad Ismail pleaded that MQM-P was involved in money laundering, adding that a huge amount was sent to the founder of MQM in London from Pakistan.
The petition claimed that the MQM-P sent 180,000 British Pounds to London in the year 2012. The party didn’t declare the amount sent to London in its returns.
The petitioner pleaded to the commission to impose a ban on the MQM for concealing the fact.
The ECP panel approved the petition for hearing and issued notices to MQM leaders Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, Farooq Sattar, Mayor Karachi Wasim Akhtar, Kunwar Naveed Jameel, and Arshad Vohra.
The bench adjourned the hearing till May 2.
It is pertinent to mention here that the Sindh High Court (SHC) had dismissed a petition in January 2018 seeking a ban on the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and disqualification of its legislators following the party founder’s speech against the state institutions on August 22, 2016.
