MQM chief Altaf Hussain terms judges’ remarks unconstitutional

Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Chief Altaf Hussain on Thursday termed the Supreme Court’s remarks over delimitation of constituencies in Karachi as unlawful and said that it was a conspiracy to steal the party’s mandate.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Election Commission of Pakistan to submit a report after consultation with the Sindh government and other stakeholders regarding the delimitation of constituencies in Karachi that may end the political and ethnic polarization in the city.

In his view, the Supreme Court does not have the authority to say that constituencies should be formed in such a way that a single-party majority does not exist. The MQM, which is the ruling party in Karachi, has several constituencies that are considered to be key strongholds.

During an address to MQM representatives in Karachi, Altaf Hussain claimed that the observation was a well thought out plan to break the MQM’s majority mandate and speculated that this would spark ethnic discord.

He said such remarks were widening the sense of disenfranchisement among the people of Karachi. The remarks amounted to contempt for the mandate given by the people of Karachi and presented an open enmity for the metropolitan, he added.

Called on Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, President Asif Ali Zardari and the federal government to take notice of the remarks, he said that constitutional action should be taken against the judges who made these comments.

He said that the delimitation of constituencies without a new census was against the spirit of the Constitution. He questioned why the formula suggested for Karachi was not being applied to the rest of the country, when there were cities throughout Pakistan where one party or another had a majority.

The MQM chief said it was the right of Karachi’s residents to vote for whom they wanted and that no one had the right to take this away from them. He termed the move an “act of gerrymandering.”

Hussain said if the Supreme Court’s observations were in light of the security situation in Karachi, then by comparison, Balochistan was in a far worse situation wherein the nation’s flag could not be raised in half of the province.

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Posted by Web Desk on Nov 30 2012. Filed under Latest News, Pakistan, Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.