ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has approved a petition for hearing seeking ban on Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), ARY News reported on Monday.
A three-member bench of the election commission headed by the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Justice (retd) Sardar Muhammad Raza heard the petition.
Petitioner Mohammad Ismail pleaded to the election commission that the MQM-Pakistan was involved in money laundering adding that a huge amount was sent to the founder of MQM in London from Pakistan.
The petition claimed that the MQM-Pakistan sent one lac 80 thousand British Pounds to London in year 2012. The party didn’t declare the amount sent to London in its returns.
The petitioner pleaded to the commission to impose ban on the MQM over concealing the fact.
The election commission panel approved the petition for hearing and issued notices to MQM leaders Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, Farooque Sattar, Mayor Karachi Wasim Akhtar, Kunwar Naveed Jameel and Arshad Vohra.
The bench adjourned hearing of the petition until May 02.
It is pertinent to mention here that the Sindh High Court (SHC) had dismissed a petition in January 2018 seeking ban on the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and disqualification of its legislators following the party founder’s speech against the state institutions on August 22, 2016.