A three-judge bench led by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry resumed the hearing on the law and order situation in Karachi and issued notice to Altaf to appear before the court in person on January 07. The court directed Ministry of Foreign Affairs to identify the location from where the speech was made and deliver a notice through the Pakistan High Commission in London. The bench also directed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to serve a copy of the notice to the MQM chief through Farooq Sattar, the convenor of MQM.
The Advocate General Sindh was also directed to submit a comprehensive report on compliance with the apex court's judgement on Karachi law and order situation case, pinpointing officials responsible for not implementing the verdict in letter and spirit.
Among others, the bench issued notices to Karachi administration and Chief Secretary Sindh to explain why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against them for failing to implement the Supreme Court judgement. The court also sought an explanation from the Chief Secretary why killings in Karachi had increased (and to provide details of the number of people killed from 13 August 2011 to-date) and what measures had been taken for the protection of life and property of citizens.
"In the wake of law and order situation of Karachi the Court in Wattan Party case issued a number of directions inter alia the delimitation of constituencies in the economic hub but no review petition was filed against the order," the Chief Justice said. From the outset of hearing, the Chief Justice observed that the bench had to take notice of MQM leader Altaf Hussain's statement in which he asked the judges to tender an apology. He added, "It is absolutely wrong - Should we stop working?". The bench ruled that the MQM leader's remarks after the delimitation order were not only contemptuous but aimed at threatening the court and undermining the authority of the court.
The bench also asked Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) to submit the script of the relevant parts/portion of Altaf Hussain's speech on the next hearing. The Chief Justice said that when directions contained in the judgement on Karachi law and order situation were not implemented, a bench for the implementation of its judgement was constituted. He said the bench conducted its hearing in Karachi law and order situation and on the last date of hearing passed an interim order for the delimitation of the constituencies in Karachi. The hearing was adjourned till January 07.