THE PRESIDENTIAL ORDINANCE WOULD LEAD TO DICTATORSHIP
FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN RIGHTS OF THE CITIZENS WOULD BE USURPED

Karachi: April 29, 1999

The founder leader of MQM, Mr. Altaf Hussain, vehemently condemned the promulgation of presidential ordinance, relating to terrorism and said this ordinance is aimed at usurping the fundamental rights of the citizens and would lead to establishment of dictatorship. He called upon all democratic minded people, political leaders, lawyers' journalists, intellectuals, and people representing different walks of life to unitedly raise their protest against this dictatorial ordinance.

Mr. Altaf Hussain expressed this view while addressing a meeting of lawyers, which was summoned to discuss legal, constitutional and all other aspects relating to the ordinance. The meeting was attended besides members of the MQM Legal Aid Committee, other senior lawyers. Mr. Altaf Hussain said this ordinance is actually not directed against terrorism, but to establish dictatorship, usurps the fundamental rights of the citizens and throttle democracy. Mr. Altaf Hussain said if the citizens do not get affordable and quick justice the need is to remove all obstructions and bring in improvements in the system that deliver justice to the needy. Any presidential ordinance aimed at suspending fundamental rights, denial of justice and establishment of dictatorship would never be in the interest of the nation and the country, he added.

Mr. Altaf Hussain recalled that under the ordinance, interference in the work of government servants and creating obstruction would also be considered acts of terrorism. In other words if a heavy contingent of Police raided Nine Zero, plundered the hides and skins voluntarily collected, then the whole Nine Zero is put under-siege, passers-by are tortured and looted. And when Senator Aftab Sheikh, Dr Farooq Sattar and other members of the parliament question this illegal action of the police officials, the police officials thereupon framed charges of terrorism against them and no action will be taken against the police officials for their illegal, unlawful raids, siege and plunder. He said that now under this presidential ordinance, the State functionaries could arrest anybody, frame up case against them and indulge in looting and plunder of properties and carry out State terrorism.

Mr. Altaf Hussain said as long as no ordinance has been promulgated under which the law-breaker, whether he may be common people, government officials or government organisation or even prime minister, should be sentenced to death.

He said the first and foremost point of the presidential proclamation for the dismissal of Benazir Bhutto regime was extra-judicial killings of thousands of Mohajirs, but the police officials and other government functionaries involved in such crimes were neither punished nor any ordinance was promulgated.

He said even after the introduction of Governor's Rule in Sindh, extra-judicial killings took place and it has been proved, but no actions have been taken against those police officials. He said that under the blessings of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, an MQM worker Fasih Ahmed was tortured to death while in police custody. Why actions were not initiated against the killers, he asked?

He further said that to make the ordinance effective from 24 February 1999 is meaningful. Why this ordinance has not been made effective from 19 June 1992? Why this ordinance is not being promulgated to punish the killers of thousands of MQM workers?

He said that Benazir Bhutto and her husband were punished on charges of corruption, but why did President Rafiq Tarar, who is a true Muslim, ignored the corruption of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his family members. He further said that the Sharif family has been declared international defaulters and a British court has already passed judgement of fraud against them. He asked, why the President did not promulgated an ordinance to punish the Sharif family? He emphasised that this one-sided action of the President would not be in the interest of the country.