ATC issues arrest warrants for Altaf Hussain in Dr Imran Farooq murder case

An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) issued non-bailable arrest warrants for Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) founder Altaf Hussain during a hearing of MQM leader Dr Imran Farooq's murder case in Adiala Jail on Wednesday.

ATC judge Shahrukh Arjumand, who heard the case, ordered the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to arrest and present Hussain in court, delaying the indictment of the arrested suspects — Syed Mohsin Ali, Moazzam Ali and Khalid Shamim — who are being held in Adiala Jail.

The hearing was adjourned until December 20 after the FIA prosecutor requested the court for time to prepare necessary documents.

Farooq, aged 50, was on his way home from work when he was attacked in Green Lane on September 16, 2010, outside his London home. A post-mortem examination had revealed that he died from multiple stab wounds and blunt trauma to the head.

A five-and-a-half inch bladed kitchen knife and a house brick used in the attack were recovered at the scene, London police had said in the report.

FIA had registered a case against the MQM founder and other senior party leaders in 2015 for their alleged involvement in Farooq's murder. Mohsin, Moazzam and Shamim were arrested in the same year over suspicion of involvement in the killing.

Relevant clauses of the Anti-Terrorism Act and the clauses of conspiracy, assistance, abatement and assassination/murder were included in the first information report.

Imran Farooq case

THE absurdity of the notion is only heightened, perhaps, by the fact that not just does it come from Pakistan — the justice system of which is characterised by inefficiency and sluggishness — but also comes from amongst the highest tiers of government and concerns a high-profile murder case that is potentially politically explosive.
On Tuesday, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said that an FIR regarding the killing of MQM leader Dr Imran Farooq in 2010 would be registered here, and that the task had been assigned to the Islamabad chapter of the Federal Investigation Agency.
The issue of jurisdiction seems to not have concerned him; after all, Dr Farooq was met with fatal violence near his residence in Edgware, the UK, and had been a long-time citizen of and resident in that country. While his political association with Pakistan may have been significant, this country’s legal system has little to do with a crime not committed within its own borders.
Further, the crime is already under investigation of the London Metropolitan Police, headquartered at Scotland Yard.
At the heart of the issue, it appears, is three men who are under custody in Pakistan. They are suspected of having been involved in the murder of Dr Farooq, and were interviewed by London Met police investigators during the summer upon being given access by the local authorities.
Mr Nisar told the press conference that the suspects’ remand had expired, leaving the government with making the choice between releasing them or registering a formal case against them. “British authorities did not make any request for the extradition of these suspects,” the minister said.
Whatever one might think of this statement, his comments implying that the London Met police were pursuing the case inefficiently must provoke only astonishment.
Only recently, Mr Nisar raised the issue that countries which suspected a Pakistani of having committed a crime were responsible for conducting investigations against them. Curious that he should hold such a different view of jurisdiction now.

December 02, 2015 Imran Farooq case to be registered in Pakistan, Nisar

ISLAMABAD: An FIR pertaining to the murder of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader Dr Imran Farooq in London in Sept 2010 would be registered in Pakistan, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said on Tuesday.
He said it was a high-profile murder case having international repercussions and the revelations made during interrogation of three suspects by Scotland Yard and a local joint investigation team (JIT) were serious in nature.
“On the basis of the JIT report and related facts, it has been decided that an FIR of the murder will be registered by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in Islamabad,” he told a press conference.
Asked whether the FIA was empowered under the law to register the FIR of a murder case, he said the agency had been given powers under the Protection of Pakistan Act for the Imran Farooq murder case, and the FIR would be registered under the law.
Asked if MQM chief Altaf Hussain would also be booked in the case, the interior minister said the JIT would continue its investigation into the role of the three suspects in the murder and the rest depended on how the investigations proceeded.
On the expiry of remand period of the three suspects, there were only two options — either to set them free or register an FIR against them, the minister said.
The decision to register an FIR of the Dr Imran Farooq murder case was announced the day when two officials of Military Police were killed in Karachi by gunmen riding a motorcycle.
Chaudhry Nisar condemned the incident, saying that such desperate acts by terrorists could not weaken the government’s resolve to fight terror. “We will fight out and defeat terrorists in Karachi, the Federally Admi­nistered Tribal Areas and elsewhere.” He said the struggle to make Pakistan a peaceful country had entered a decisive phase.
INGO REGISTRATION: The minister said 129 international non-governmental organisations (INGOs) had applied online for registration by deadline of Nov 30. He announced that the deadline had been extended for another month as a goodwill gesture.
The submission of applications in such a large number negated the suspicions and objections against the INGOs’ registration raised by certain countries and organisations.
Before the introduction of the policy, hundreds of INGOs were operating in the country but only 19 of them were registered.
The extension in the deadline for INGOs’ registration was a manifestation of the government’s desire to work with these organisations, the minister added.
But representatives of INGOs failing to apply for registration even during the extended period would have to leave the country by Jan 1, he warned.
About the suspended EU-Pakistan readmission agreement, Chaudhry Nisar said an EU delegation, during a recent meeting with him, had agreed to address concerns over deportation of Pakistanis.
He said the agreement would be discussed clause by clause in talks between the two sides to be held in Brussels next month. Chaudhry Nisar expressed concern over the treatment meted out to Pakistani nationals in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Iran, and said human rights of Pakistani nationals must be respected.
On September 16, 2016

LONDON: Shortly before 17:30 on Sept 16, 2010, Dr Imran Farooq was on his way home from work when he was murdered outside his home in Green Lane, Edgware, in north London. As the police subsequently reported, a post-mortem gave his cause of death as multiple stab wounds and blunt trauma to the head.

For Dr Farooq it was a violent, brutal end. For the MQM, it was the start of a process that six years later would leave the party divided, weakened and under assault from the Pakistani state. We can never know what would have happened had Imran Farooq not been murdered but MQM insiders admit that it was an incident that changed everything.

The British police investigation has been remarkably thorough. Detectives from the Counter Terrorism Command have spoken to 4,555 people, reviewed 7,697 documents, followed up 2,423 lines of inquiry and seized 4,325 exhibits.

At each stage the police faced obstacles. Early on, for example, details of visa applications had to be prised out of a reluctant British consulate in Karachi. Despite such difficulties the police eventually identified two suspects. One, Muhammad Kashif Khan Kamran subsequently died in Pakistani custody: the other, Mohsin Ali Syed is alive and the subject of a British extradition request.

After the murder inquiry came other investigations. The police found not only piles of cash in the MQM’s buildings but also a receipt for weapons and explosives in Altaf Hussain’s home. The tax authorities started taking an interest and the MQM leader’s suggestion that his supporters play football with the heads of Karachi police officers led to a hate speech investigation.

And yet there were no charges. The MQM insists this is because it is innocent. Others have different theories. Increasing numbers of British members of parliament are asking why the cases are deadlocked. Even some of those under investigation have fully expected to be charged. Their own lawyers told them charges were inevitable.

UK protecting MQM?

It is difficult to escape the conclusion that had the MQM been a jihadi outfit there would have been charges long ago. Which raises the question: why is the British state protecting the MQM?

The answer is complicated because the reasons have changed over time. When Altaf Hussain first arrived in London the British saw him as an asset. There were regular contacts — several each week — between the MQM leadership, the Foreign Office and MI6. With a consistent haul of between 20 and 25 Members of the National Assembly, the MQM often held the balance of power in Pakistan and from time to time had federal ministers. When Britain needed things done in Pakistan it was in the happy position of having a powerful Pakistani politician beholden to British hospitality.

At various times an array of Pakistani politicians — driven, let us not forget, by self-interest rather than principle — demanded London make legal moves against the party. People who had been directly threatened in Altaf Hussain’s speeches paid visits to the British High Commissioner in Islamabad demanding action. All were brushed aside with the standard response: “He is a British citizen: it is none of your business”.

After Imran Farooq’s murder the mood of the British Foreign Office gradually began to change. Diplomats who in the past had said: “we have no evidence against the MQM” started to say: “of course, they are rather unsavoury but it’s a matter for the police”.

The British ship of state, it seemed, was adjusting itself to the possibility that there would indeed be charges.

But then a new factor come into play: it became known that two senior MQM officials had given statements to the British police that some of their funding came from India. Paradoxically, the revelation helped the MQM because it raised the possibility that evidence of India’s funding of terrorists could be heard in a British court. Indian officials made it clear that this would be unacceptable. Given the high priority Britain has given to improving its trade relationship with India, Delhi’s concerns were taken seriously.

Having initially been motivated by a desire to protect its own interests, London found itself trying to protect India’s. Which is why just a month ago there was every chance that all the cases would have been dropped.

The Aug 22 speech

And then Altaf Hussain made his August speech. The British police had become so accustomed to their investigations into the MQM leading nowhere that their initial response was to shrug their shoulders and say it was a matter for Karachi law enforcement authorities. But the speech and the divisions it created within the MQM had created a new political situation and the next day – when Scotland Yard rather belatedly realised this – the British police set up a new incitement investigation.

The incitement could satisfy everyone. The British could help overcome their PR problem in Pakistan by at last being able to say: “we have moved against the party, just as many Pakistanis demanded”. While Islamabad’s would prefer money laundering charges so that the Indian funding evidence is heard in a British court, it would welcome charges of any kind. For its part, India has no reason to stand in the way of a British trial as long as it steers clear of the funding issues.

So six years after Imran Farooq was murdered, the MQM has been bashed and battered but it has still not been knocked out. The pressure that Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan is applying on London is having an impact, especially in the Foreign Office, but there is still some way to go before London decisively changes it attitude. These cases have a tendency to drag on longer than anyone expects but it should be the case that by the seventh anniversary of Imran Farooq’s death we will finally know the legal fate of the MQM’s London leadership. And the history of the whole story suggests that the outcome will depend not so much on the law but on politics.

 

 On September 16, 2015

ISLAMABAD: On the fifth anniversary of the murder of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) convener Dr Imran Farooq, London's Metropolitan police has reaffirmed its commitment for the investigation of the case, saying its detectives "remain committed to finding those responsible".
In a summary published on its official website Wednesday, the Scotland Yard shared details of the progress in Dr Farooq's murder investigation.
In connection with the probe, detectives from the Met Police Counter Terrorism Command to date:

• spoke to 4,555 people
• reviewed 7,697 documents
• followed up 2,423 lines of inquiry
• and seized 4,325 exhibits

Dr Farooq, aged 50, was on his way home from work when he was murdered in Green Lane on September 16, 2010, outside his London home.
A five-and-a-half inch bladed kitchen knife and a house brick used in the attack were recovered at the scene, London police said in the report.
"It is thought Dr Farooq's murder would have required careful planning and help from other people, some of whom may have provided assistance or information unwittingly," the Scotland Yard said in the report.
It says Met police officers have been in regular contact with Pakistani authorities in order to collect evidence that could help in bringing to justice the killers of Dr Farooq.
According to the report, Met police officers named Mohsin Ali Syed and Kashif Khan Kamran as the two men wanted in connection with the murder.
Mohsin, 30, is a Pakistani national who lived in the UK between February 2010 and September 16, 2010 while Kashif, 36, is the other Pakistani national named in the murder case who was in the UK between early September 2010 and September 16, 2010.

This combo of handout pictures received from the Metropolitan Police Service on May 27, 2014 shows Muhammad Kashif Khan Kamran and Mohsin Ali Syed, both named by British police in connection with the 2010 killing of Dr Imran Farooq in London. — AFP

Scotland Yard arrested three other people in connection with the investigation, but they were all released without charge, said its report.
Earlier Dawn newspaper reported that Mohsin and Kashif were said to have acquired British visa on the basis of their admission to the London Academy of Management Sciences in East London.
Mohsin went to the UK in February, 2010, and lived in a number of places in London. Kashif reached there in early September, 2010.
According to information shared by the UK, phone records showed that the two usually moved together and were allegedly in contact with a close relative of MQM chief Altaf Hussain.
They left the UK on Sept 16, 2010, hours after the murder for Sri Lanka before travelling to Karachi on Sept 19.
Mohsin Ali was arrested along with another accused, Khalid Shamim, by the Frontier Corps in Balochistan about two months ago.
During its visit to Islamabad in July the Scotland Yard team quizzed Khalid Shamim and another accused, Moazzam Ali Khan, who was arrested by law-enforcement agencies in Karachi this year. Moazzam Ali Khan was accused of arranging tickets, visa and finances for the UK visit of Mohsin and Kashif.
It has been reported that the Metropolitan police have reasons to believe that Mohsin and Kashif stabbed Dr Farooq to death before fleeing the country.
The whereabouts of Kashif are not known and there are rumours that he is not alive.
Khalid Shamim is accused of being a part of the murder plot and investigations suggest that he had met Mohsin and Kashif and arranged their meeting with Moazzam Ali Khan.
A three-member team of Scotland Yard returned to London on Sept 4 after interrogating Mohsin Ali as part of the probe, Dawn reported earlier.

The team had come to Pakistan recently when Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan was in the United Kingdom holding talks with British authorities.
Scotland Yard has asked people who can provide any information in relation to the murder probe to come forward and contact the police, assuring that the information will be dealt with sensitivity.

Profile: Dr Imran Farooq

MQM leader Dr Imran Farooq, aged 50, was on his way home from work when he was attacked in Green Lane on September 16, 2010 outside his London home. A post-mortem examination found that he died from multiple stab wounds and blunt trauma to the head.
Farooq had claimed asylum in Britain in 1999. He was wanted in Pakistan over scores of charges including torture and murder but always claimed the accusations were politically motivated.
He had twice been elected as a lawmaker in Pakistan but went into hiding in 1992 when the government ordered a military crackdown against MQM activists in Karachi.

 

On the fifth anniversary of the murder of Dr Imran Farooq officers continue to investigate his death.
Dr Farooq was on his way home from work when he was attacked outside his home in Green Lane, Edgware, London, shortly before 17:30hrs on Thursday ,16 September 2010.
The 50-year-old died as a result of multiple stab wounds and blunt trauma to the head. A five-and-a-half inch bladed kitchen knife and a house brick used in the attack were recovered at the scene.
Detectives from the Met Police Counter Terrorism Command (SO15) are investigating Dr Farooq's murder and remain committed to finding those responsible. To date they have spoken to 4,555 people, reviewed 7,697 documents, followed up 2,423 lines of inquiry and seized 4,325 exhibits.
It is thought Dr Farooq's murder would have required careful planning and help from other people, some of whom may have provided assistance or information unwittingly.
Officers have been in regular contact with the Pakistani authorities to gather evidence that could assist in bringing to justice the killers of Dr Imran Farooq. They have named two men as wanted in connection with the murder:
Moshin Ali Syed, 30 (15.05.85) a Pakistani national who was in the UK between February 2010 and 16 September 2010;
Muhammad Kashif Khan Kamran, 36 (6.07.79) a Pakistani national who was in the UK between early September 2010 and 16 September 2010.
Anyone who can assist should call the police incident room on +44 (0)20 7230 2717 or contact the police by email at SO15Mailbox-.DrFarooqMurder@met.police.uk
Any information provided will be dealt with sensitively by officers. Alternatively, anyone who wishes to remain anonymous can call Crimestoppers, a charity independent of the police, on 0800 555 111 within the UK or by using the Crimestoppers untraceable online form to pass on information at http://www.crimestoppers-uk.org <http://www.crimestoppers-uk.org/>
We understand that people may have concerns about speaking to the police and would like to offer reassurance that information will be dealt with sensitively.
Three men previously arrested in connection with this investigation have all been released without charge:
A 39-year-old man arrested on 9 December 2010, at an address in Camden on suspicion of murder, and also on suspicion of robbery in October 2009. He was subsequently released without charge in March 2012.
A 54-year-old man arrested on 24 June, 2013, at Heathrow airport on suspicion of conspiracy to murder. He was subsequently released without charge in October 2014.
A 31-year-old arrested on 27 August, 2014 at an address in Waltham Forest in connection with the murder. He was subsequently released without charge in May 2015.

 

Pakistan to grant UK access to Imran Farooq murder suspects: sources

 

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has agreed to grant British investigation authorities access to the main suspects arrested in Dr Imran Farooq's murder case, DawnNews reported.
Sources privy to the matter said Federal Interior Minister Chaudhary Nisar Ali Khan conveyed Pakistan's approval in this regard on Tuesday in a meeting with United Kingdom’s counter-terrorism department chief Richard Walton.
Sources said Walton arrived in Pakistan on Monday and met the interior minister in Islamabad the next day before leaving for England.
Pakistani authorities have agreed to let UK authorities access arrested suspect Moazzam Ali Khan, who is believed to be the primary suspect in Dr Imran Farooq's murder case, reported DawnNews.
Pakistan's government and the interior ministry claim it was Moazzam who not only planned the technical details of the murder but also provided logistical support.

It is pertinent to mention that despite numerous earlier attempts, there exists no official agreement between the UK and Pakistan regarding the exchange of prisoners and criminals.
This is why the government has only granted British authorities access to the suspects solely for the purpose of investigation, said sources.

Prime suspect in Imran Farooq murder placed under 90-day preventive detention

KARACHI: The prime suspect in the murder of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader Imran Farooq was produced in an anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Karachi on Tuesday.
Pakistan Rangers informed the ATC about a 90-day preventive detention of the suspect Moazzam Ali for questioning.
The paramilitary force informed the court that they have credible information about his involvement in target killings and other offences which fall under the domain of the anti-terrorism act (ATA)
The suspect was subsequently placed under preventive detention for three months under Section 11 EEEE and in compliance with Section 11 EEEE (3) of the ATA.
The production of the suspect along with his jail warrant and detention order was made for the information of this court.
A day earlier, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan had said the primary suspect in Dr Imran Farooq's murder case had been arrested from Karachi and will be presented in court tomorrow (today).
Nisar had not disclosed the name of the suspect but said his identity will be made public when he is presented in court.
The man taken into custody by intelligence and security agencies was responsible for arranging visas, tickets and stay in Britain of two suspected killers of Dr Farooq.

MQM leader Dr Imran Farooq, aged 50, was on his way home from work when he was murdered in Green Lane on September 16, 2010 outside his London home. A post-mortem examination found that he died from multiple stab wounds and blunt trauma to the head.
Farooq claimed asylum in Britain in 1999. He was wanted in Pakistan over scores of charges including torture and murder but always claimed the accusations were politically motivated.

British envoy calls on Nisar

British High commissioner to Pakistan Philip Barton called on Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan today and discussed the arrest of Moazzam Ali from Karachi in connection with Dr Imran Farooq's murder.
A spokesman for the Interior Ministry Sarfaraz Hussain confirmed the meeting which took place in Islamabad.
During the meeting, matters pertaining to the money laundering probe against MQM chief Altaf Hussain also came under discussion

 

FC arrests two men linked to Imran Farooq murder case

QUETTA: Two men said to be linked to the murder of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) convener Dr. Imran Farooq were held near the Pak-Afghan border in Chaman, it was confirmed on Thursday.
The accused— identified as Mohsin Ali and Khalid Shamim by Frontier Corps (FC) spokesman Khalid Wasey— are wanted in the murder case of Dr. Imran Farooq.
Both suspects belong to a political party based in Karachi, Wasey said in a statement on Thursday, without disclosing the name of the political party. The accused were handed over to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) for interrogation after important revelations, Wasey said.
FC arrested both men when they entered Pakistan from Afghanistan. “Both accused were apprehended at Addah Kahol area of the border,” the spokesman said, giving no further details. Wasey said the federal interior ministry was also informed of the arrests.
An important breakthrough is expected in the Imran Farooq murder case, a security official who declined to be named told Dawn.com.
The source added that both suspects had been based in neighbouring Afghanistan for a long time. FIA and district administration of Killa Abdullah have decided to shift the accused from Chaman to Quetta, for which strict security arrangements have been made.
Khalid Shamim, according to a petition filed by his wife in the Sindh High Court, has been missing since January 6, 2011, and was an accounts officer of the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board.
Shamim, according to a progress report placed on record on the SHC's order, was also involved in another murder case registered at the Model Colony police station.

A 2014 BBC report refers to the same petition in the Sindh High Court, and mentions Khalid Shamim as another man “believed to have helped the two suspects [Imran Farooq’s alleged murderers] return to Pakistan.”
The other man said to be arrested by FC today—Mohsin Ali— is mentioned in the same report as one of the two suspects who are believed to have travelled from Pakistan to London to assassinate Imran Farooq.
In April this year, when Federal Interior Ministar Nisar Ali Khan announced the arrest of Moazzam Ali Khan from Karachi, also for alleged involvement in Imran Farooq's murder, he said:
"The two other men who were suspected [of being involved in the murder], they were poor people," referring to the two Pakistani nationals —29-year-old Mohsin Ali Syed and 34-year-old Muhammad Kashif Khan Kamran — wanted by British authorities investigating the murder.

MQM Rabita Committee said in an official statement Thursday that the party had no association with the two men arrested earlier in the day.
MQM leader Wasay Jalil responded to the arrest of the two men from Chaman saying: "We have been made aware of the claims that two individuals were arrested on the Pakistan-Afghan border in relation to the murder of Dr Imran Farooq."
"It is our understanding that this is not a recent arrest and has happened a considerable time ago," Jalil said.
He said the MQM is hoping for a swift conclusion of the investigation into the death of "our dear colleague Dr Farooq."
Meanwhile, Federal Interior Minister Nisar Ali Khan has ordered Frontier Corps to transfer the two men to Islamabad following initial investigations.

This combo of handout pictures received from the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) on May 27, 2014 shows 34-year-old Muhammad Kashif Khan Kamran and Mohsin Ali Syed, both named by British police in connection with the 2010 killing of Imran Farooq in London. — AFP