Farooq Sattar acquitted in loudspeaker act violation case

KARACHI: A sessions court in Karachi on Saturday acquitted former convener of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Farooq Sattar in a case pertaining to violating the Loudspeaker Act.

Sattar was indicted in the case last year on October 3 while the senior politician had denied all charges against him.

The case had been registered at the New Town police station after a party workers’ gathering in PIB Colony on June 27, 1987 for protesting against water shortage and violating the Loudspeaker Act, which bars using a loudspeaker in the red zone area.

The case was lodged under Section 188 of the Pakistan Penal Code, Sections 2/3 of the Loudspeaker Act read with Section 13-D of the Arms Ordinance.

Sattar had in June 2018 got interim bail from a district court in the case.

In another case, Farooq Sattar and other eight MQM leaders including Karachi Mayor Waseem Akhtar, Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, Haider Abbas Rizvi and other party workers were also indicted by a city court in the case of  Loudspeaker Act violation. All accused pleaded not guilty in the case.

This case was registered in 2015 after the party held a protest rally against the arrests of its workers and the Ranges raids at party offices.