Karachi: Police on Wednesday released former federal minister Babar Ghori for allegedly promoting the inflammatory speech of Altaf Hussain, founder of the London-based Muttahida Qaumi Movement in 2015.
After being released from police custody, Gauri left for the United Arab Emirates from Karachi. on Wednesday night.
Mr. Gauri was arrested at the Karachi airport on June 5 when he returned to the country after ending his seven-year self-imposed exile. The next day, police showed him arrested in a 2015 hate speech case and obtained his physical remand from an administrative judge of anti-terrorism courts to interrogate him and complete the investigation of the seven-year-old case.
On Wednesday, the investigating officer produced the MQM leader before the administrative judge after the expiry of his physical remand.
The Investigating Officer verbally informed the judge that the MQM leader was questioned in custodial interrogation and no evidence was found to show his involvement in the alleged crime.
He said records show that he was out of the country when a case was registered against him and other party leaders.
The IO further said that Gauri’s custody was no longer required and recommended her release for want of evidence.
On the other hand, defense counsel Shabbir Shah also argued that his client was in the United States when the case was registered in the present FIR along with around 30 other MQM leaders including Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui and Wasim Akhtar.
He also produced travel documents in the court and informed that most of the nominated leaders of MQM have already been acquitted in the present case.
He asked the court to discharge his client from the case as there was no evidence to prove his presence in the country at the time of the alleged incident.
After hearing the arguments of both the sides, the judge ordered the release of the MQM leader.
Later, Advocate Shah confirmed dawn That the police had released Gauri due to lack of evidence in the case.
However, he is also facing two other cases. Before returning to the country, he had secured pre-arrest bail from the Sindh High Court in a corruption case and money laundering and terror financing case.
The former port and shipping minister, along with the MQM founder and other party leaders, was booked in a money laundering and terror financing case by the Federal Investigation Agency in 2017.
Published in Dawn, July 14, 2022