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Six years on, can Dr Imran Farooq’s murderers be arrested?

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Web Desk
Web Desk
News Stories Posted by ARY News Digital Team

The family of the slain MQM leader and party members remembered Dr Farooq as Friday (today) marked his sixth death anniversary. A lot has happened since his sudden death.

At least two men, as reported by London police, attacked Dr Farooq when he was on his way back to home.

A post-mortem subsequently revealed that multiple stab wounds and blunt trauma to his head due to a massive blow with a hard substance, as the cause of death.

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Three of the suspects in Dr Imran Farooq murder case

Investigators in Pakistan and the United Kingdom initiated probes into the murder of the exiled Pakistani politician in the wake of which officers from London’s Scotland Yard made several visits to Pakistan.

The probe turned several turns, shapes and at one point, it was disclosed that differences between Dr Farooq and party’s leadership in London were widening amid rifts.


Who was Dr Imran Farooq?

  • A former Pakistani parliamentarian, Dr Farooq was MQM’s founding members
  • He disappeared from Pakistan in 1992 after an operation was launched in Karachi
  • Dr Farooq later reappeared in London in 1999, when he claimed political asylum

Scotland Yard later took Muttahida’s founder Altaf Hussain – who has also been living in London for more than 20 years – into the investigation fold and questioned him along with other party members in London on several occasions.

During their investigation into the murder of Dr Farooq, the London police found £167,525.92 (some $235,000) in the MQM’s offices in London and an additional £289,785.32 in Mr Hussain’s home in Edgware, north London, said a British media report.

According to another British media report, Scotland Yard documents listed more than 70 MQM-related bank accounts in London only with at least 26 in the name of Altaf Hussain.

And…MQM, apparently Karachi’s most-loved political party, became the centre of attention in both the cases.


Also Read: Suspect in Imran Farooq murder accuses MQM chief of being RAW agent


During the six long years of investigations, authorities in Pakistan successfully arrested Muazzam Ali, Mohsin Ali Syed, Kashif and Khalid Shamim, main suspects in Dr Imran Farooq murder case.

A trial involving the four suspects was still in Pakistani courts.

Both Shamim and Ali were detained near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in Chaman, Balochistan province.

Scotland Yard teams have also questioned them during their visits to Pakistan.

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In a party statement released later, MQM denied any connection with the suspects or involvement in the murder of Dr Farooq and accused the Pakistani government of political victimisation.

British police officials said, according to a rough estimate, more than 11,000 people have been investigated in the high-profile case involving Pakistan and Britain.

They claimed to have thoroughly scrutinised a bulk of written material including emails and letters while some 4,325 belongings were also taken into custody during multiple raids at key places including MQM offices in London.

Despite the scope of the probe, there has not been a major breakthrough in Dr Imran Farooq murder case so far.

While the family of the deceased awaits a long-delayed verdict in the case, both Pakistan and British authorities, collaborating with each other for the last six years, are confident that they are close to uncovering Dr Farooq murder plot very soon.

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