THE JUDGEMENT OF NAB COURT
AGAINST FAROOQ SATTAR IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL, UNLAWFUL, UNJUST AND
DISCRIMINATORY -- MQM COORDINATION COMMITTEE
Karachi - 15 July 2000
The MQM Co-ordination Committee has strongly
condemned the judgement against Dr Farooq Sattar, Parliamentary
Leader of the MQM in the suspended provincial assembly of Sindh,
Former Mayor of Karachi, Former Minister for Local Bodies in the
Sindh Government and one of the senior Member of MQM Co-ordination
Committee. The MQM Co-ordination Committee termed the
sentence of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Court as
unconstitutional, unlawful, unjust and discriminatory. They
further stated that the sentence against Dr Farooq Sattar is not
only against him but also against the entire Mohajir Nation and
is the continuation of the ongoing State Operation against
Mohajirs, which commenced on 19 June 1992. They also said
that the sentence imposed upon Dr Farooq Sattar by the Punjabi
Establishment is part of their process of the ethnic cleansing of
the Mohajir Nation and their fascist and racist steps for
political victimisation of ethno-linguistic minorities of the
country. They said that the manner in which the case was
conducted against Dr Farooq Sattar in the NAB Court makes it
abundantly clear that the decision announced today was drafted
well before the judgement. They further commented that this
judgement is the continuation of the policy of the Punjabi
Establishment to annihilate Mohajirs, crush the MQM and enslave
Mohajirs under the hegemony of the Punjabi Establishment.
They said that during this State operation thousands of our
workers have been extrajudicially murdered, hundreds have been
awarded death and life sentences by the military and other
kangaroo courts.
The MQM Co-ordination Committee said that today’s
judgement tantamount to slaying of judiciary and we reserve the
right to peaceful protest against this miscarriage of justice and
slaying of judiciary. They said that we would like to
inform the present military government that the people of the
Mohajir Nation are determined and would not surrender despite the
oppression, unlawful sentences and the nefarious tactics, and
would continue their peaceful struggle for the attainment of
their rights.
Concluding the statement the MQM Co-ordination
Committee said that its members are consulting its legal aid
committee and lawyers to launch an appeal in the higher courts
against the judgement.
The MQM Co-ordination Committee appealed to the
national and international human rights organisation to take
notice of the judgement of the NAB Court against Dr Farooq Sattar
and raise their voice. They also appealed to all those
political leaders, lawyers, intellectuals and writers, who
believe in the supremacy of law and rule of democracy, to protest
against the oppression of the government.
RELATED EVENTS OF DR FAROOQ
SATTAR'S UNLAWFUL DETENTION SINCE 26 NOVEMBER 1999