An Anti-terrorism court on Friday rejected plea of Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s Waseem Akhtar seeking permission to appear before returning officer to submit nomination papers for Karachi mayorship.
The petition was filed in the court by Akhtar’s counsel, Khawaja Naveed, who maintained that his client was MQM’s mayoral candidate for Karachi and he should be allowed to leave prison for appearance before the returning officer.
The court turned down the formal request stating that the Election Commission of Pakistan would decide whether or not Akhtar would appear before the returning officer.
The returning officer was authorised to summon a mayor-designate, the court stated. The counsel for the defendant in Dr Asim’s terror facilitation case said that he would approach the Election Commission once the anti-terrorism court releases its order.
The MQM’s mayoral candidate was detained after hearing in Dr Asim’s case last month along with Rauf Siddique, Pakistan People’s Party’s Abdul Qadir Patel and Pak Sarzameen Party’s Anees Qaimkhani.
The ATC had rejected petitions seeking extension in interim bails of all the four accused after which they were not allowed to leave the court’s premises. All of the four were shifted to prison from the court the same day.
Dr Asim Hussain, former petroleum minister, had named the aforementioned politicians during interrogation by the joint investigation team in a terror case against him.
According to Dr Asim, Waseem Akhtar and others asked him to treat terrorists and target killers in his hospital called Dr Ziauddin Hospital in Karachi.
A case was lodged with North Nazimabad Police Station last year in November against the former petroleum minister under the anti-terrorism law.
