- Hussain will “file a claim for more than £100,000” against former devotees.
- Court allows Hussain to release £77,760 into his lawyer's account.
- Hussain claims that lawyer Farogh Nasim “conspired against me”.
LONDON: Three UK Court of Appeal judges have ordered the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) to pay £65,000, equivalent to around Rs 23,333,855 or Rs 23.3 million, to MQM founder Altaf Hussain by July 30, 2024, as legal costs.
Hussain won in the Court of Appeal against his former MQM-P devotees, who deserted him in August 2016.
According to the order issued by the court following a unanimous decision by three judges accepting Hussain's appeal and overturning an earlier decision in favour of the MQM-P, the Civil Division of the Court of Appeal has ordered the MQM-P to pay £65,000 as part of the costs of the appeal.
Generally, courts order the losing party to make such payments to the plaintiffs or to the winning party when such requests or petitions are rejected, first, by the defendants.
The court also allowed Hussain to release £77,760 into his lawyer's account, the amount he was previously asked to deposit after the trial judge ruled against him.
MQM spokesman Mustafa Azizabadi said: Geo news that Hussain will soon lodge a claim for more than £100,000 in court against MQM-P for legal costs incurred during the first part of the trial before Insolvency and Companies Judge Jones.
MQM-P leader and complainant in the case, Syed Aminul Haque, said: Geo news by telephone from Karachi that he will instruct his lawyer in London to comply with the court orders.
The former federal justice minister said: “We are a party that respects the rule of law. We will comply with all court orders. We won unequivocally before Insolvency and Companies Judge Jones and we will win again. MQM-London is pretending the case is closed. It is not.
“The UK Court of Appeal has sent the case back to the lower court to examine some outstanding issues. We are confident that we will win there, once again. The UK properties belong to MQM-P and we will get them for the benefit of the families of our workers and our martyrs.”
After reversing the initial decision, the three Lord Justices' order states that: “The constitutional issue will be referred back to the Upper Tribunal for a further hearing, to be held before a judge other than Insolvency and Companies Judge Jones; the purpose of the further hearing will be to determine whether the claimant Haque, as representative of MQM-P, can demonstrate that the amendments made to MQM's April 2016 constitution on 31 August and 1 September 2016 were constitutional, and so he has locus standi to bring the claim.”
The court order provides that the further hearing will be held on the basis that; as at 31 August 2016, the April 2016 constitution was the MQM-P constitution; the true effect and extent of Hussain's resignation on 23 August 2016 remains a matter for further hearing; the Court of Appeal has reversed all of the judge's findings regarding the impact or significance of events after 1 September 2016; and Mr Haque is a representative of the MQM-P members and is entitled to bring this application on their behalf.
Last week, three UK Court of Appeal judges upheld the MQM founder's appeal against a ruling handed down more than a year ago by Insolvency and Companies Judge Jones, which stripped Hussain of six London properties worth around £10m in favour of the MQM's Pakistani faction, led by Haque and Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui.
Hussain had appealed the single judge's decision before the Court of Appeal, arguing that the judge failed to take into consideration the basic facts of how his party was hijacked by Dr Farooq Sattar and other MQM-P leaders in Karachi, who did not allow Hussain to return to the MQM after his speech on August 22, 2016 and then his voluntary relinquishment of powers before Sattar and the Central Coordination Committee (CCC).
ICC Judge Jones had held that MQM-P leader and former federal minister Haque was right in claiming the trust properties; that the real and legitimate MQM was the one based in Pakistan and therefore the beneficiary of the six London properties.
Court of Appeal judges Lord Justice Arnold, Lord Justice Moylan and Lord Justice Nugee reversed High Court Judge Jones' 13 March 2023 ruling that MQM-P is MQM and that Hussain and his supporters have no valid defence as trustees to challenge MQM-P's unconstitutional acts from 31 August to 1 September 2016.
On Thursday, Altaf Hussain held a press conference to “celebrate” his victory at the Appeals Court. He praised former accountability minister Shehzad Akbar, who said in a tweet that the case against Hussain was initiated four years ago, when the PTI and MQM-P were partners in the government under Prime Minister Imran Khan, by the state of Pakistan and that the MQM-P was just a tool in the hands of the state.
Akbar also appointed a minister to Khan's cabinet who played a key role.
Hussain said the minister was lawyer Farogh Nasim, who “conspired against me and changed the MQM constitution.” He thanked Shehzad Akbar for setting the record straight and speaking the truth.
The Court of Appeal accepted Hussain's argument that without deciding on the constitutionality of the MQM-P laws, the High Court judge erred in deciding that MQM-P is the real MQM.
The judges also accepted Hussain's arguments that he did not retire from his role in MQM but that Sattar had asked him to step down temporarily until the situation in Pakistan calmed down but then he and his allies abandoned him by bringing an Article 6 (treason) resolution against Hussain in Sindh and the national assemblies.
The court further stated that without having any evidence regarding the background of events leading up to this announcement, it cannot be said that he has resigned as the MQM party chief and that the High Court should investigate the allegations of violence on August 20, 2016 against MQM workers.
