Altaf warns against imposing judicial martial law

[A.Rafay]

KARACHI –MQM chief Altaf Hussain has warned against ‘imposing judicial martial law’ in the country, saying that their party cannot be eliminated through ‘state operation or conspiracies’.The remarks of a Supreme Court judge about fresh delimitation of electoral constituencies in Karachi so that no party has a monopoly are an affront to 20 million people of Karachi, said the leader of Muttahida Qaumi Movement, who is in self-exile for decades.Speaking from London over phone on Sunday, he asked a public gathering at Jinnah Ground, Azizabad, to raise their hands if they reject the “prejudicial remarks” of the SC judge. Most of the attendants responded by raising their hands in affirmation.Altaf Hussain said that Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry must take suo motu notice on these remarks as the right to give majority to any political party or to take back their mandate rests with the people and not with any judge.“I want to make it clear that the people of the country would not allow anyone to rob their democratic right. The remarks of the honourable judge are discriminatory, prejudicial, malicious and in contravention of the law and constitution of the country... The premise that the law and order situation in Karachi would improve by making fresh delimitations is misleading. Law and order and electoral constituencies are two completely different things.”He said that election issues should better be left to the election commission as it was their domain and “do not fall within the purview of any court. Undue interference in the work of the election commission would compound the problem” even if it is done in good intention. He said the Delimitation Act of 1974 makes census a basic requirement for new delimitations. The SC has ordered new delimitations of constituencies in Karachi alone without holding census which is totally against Section 9 of this act, he added.“The Delimitation Act does not speak about monopoly of any political party. The word monopoly is not present in any clause of the act. How far is it justified to term the popular support and mandate of any political party as monopoly? No court has the right to direct the ECP to change electoral constituencies in way that no party has a monopoly. It is the inalienable right of the people to give their mandate to the party of their choice. No one can deprive people of their basic right.”Altaf raised the question: “Will the judges decide as to which party has majority in a particular constituency?” He said that different political parties have majority support in different cities of the country and asked “if the SC observation is valid in Karachi’s case, why such observation was not made for the rest of the country”? He maintained that the said remarks point to a conspiracy to break the popular mandate of his party and the people of Karachi reject them.Referring to the judgment of the Lahore High Court on Kalabagh Dam, Altaf Hussain asked if the courts would decide about the construction of dams. “The people of Sindh have rejected Kalabagh Dam and hence the LHC must take back its order.”

Altaf warns against imposing judicial martial law | The Nation

 

[Cherokee]

If Altaf wants he can