Court posts Imran Khan plea for October 2

Karachi: Imran Khan, a cricketer-turned-politician, has challenged before the Sindh High Court a ban on his entry in the Sindh province.

Khan, a firebrand critic of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), which controls the port city of Karachi and is a major partner in the provincial Sindh government, has been banned twice from entering the province since May.

A bench of the court, headed by Chief Justice Sabihuddin Ahmad, yesterday adjourned the hearing on Khan's plea till October 2.

Khan, who heads the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, was expelled from Karachi shortly after arriving at the airport on September 12.

He had then scheduled to address an anti-government rally, but the provincial home department banned his entry for 30 days, saying he could disturb public order.

It was the second time that Khan was banned from Karachi. In May, he was barred from the province after calling MQM's London-based leader Altaf Hussain "a terrorist".

In his plea, Khan's counsel submitted that the provincial home secretary and chief secretary, with ulterior motives to keep him out of Karachi and with a view to thwarting his programme, imposed prohibitory orders and banned his entry into the city on September 11.

He stated that restricting his entry into Sindh was against his fundamental rights as citizen and in violation of the Constitution, which guarantees free movement.