SHC moved to reopen 7,793 cases against MQM

A petition was filed in the Sindh High Court (SHC) on Wednesday seeking the reopening of 7,793 criminal cases against the leadership and activists of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) that were closed under the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) in 2007.

Petitioner Syed Iqbal Kazmi submitted in the petition that former Pakistan president Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf had introduced the NRO on October 5, 2007 to close the criminal cases against leadership of different political parties, including Asif Ali Zardari of the Pakistan Peoples Party and Altaf Hussain of the MQM, and other MQM leaders.

Kazmi said that 7,793 criminal cases against 8,041 people were quashed due to the controversial NRO in 2007, but it was struck down by the Supreme Court in 2009.

He added that despite the orders of the country’s top court, no criminal case has been reopened against MQM leaders, including their founder Altaf Hussain, who was involved in 72 cases, including 31 of murder, as well as of attempted murder and other criminal offences.

The court was requested to direct the provincial police chief and the home department to reopen all the criminal cases pending against the MQM and its leadership as well as to

put the names of the accused on the exit control list and ensure that they are produced in court through the Interpol.