Top leadership of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) is baffled over the harsh sentence passed on party chief Altaf Hussain by a Gilgit-Baltistan court and legal experts have questioned the sentence. MQM MNA Muhammad Salman Khan Baloch told Business Recorder on Wednesday the party's Co-ordination Committee has been reviewing the sentence and no future strategy has been devised yet.
"We feel the Gilgit-Baltistan court has got no jurisdiction to award punishment to the MQM chief over a petty issue and we will come up with a strong legal strategy in the next few days," he said. An anti-terrorism court in Gilgit-Baltistan sentenced the MQM chief Altaf Hussain on Monday to a total of 81 years, including two life sentences, over his controversial speeches.
Justice Raja Shahbaz Khan further penalised Altaf Hussain with Rs 2.4 million fine and ordered authorities to seize all his property. The case was filed by a Gilgit citizen, Mir Baz Khan, against Altaf Hussain at the Airport police station over the MQM chief's controversial statements.
Baloch, however, dismissed all cases filed against Altaf Hussain as "politically motivated and having no legal basis." Talking to Business Recorder, a Supreme Court advocate Ahsanuddin Sheikh said the GB court verdict against Altaf Hussain is flawed as it carries numerous legal lacunae.
"The verdict cannot be implemented as the trial was carried out in absentia of Altaf Hussain," he said while questioning the jurisdiction of the court. "There is no precedent of any verdict of the GB court being implemented in the rest of the country," he said. He, however, suggested the MQM legal team to challenge the GB court verdict in a high court to get the record straight. The MQM chief is facing several legal challenges both in Pakistan and Britain, the country of his residence.