-Accused confirmed Altaf Hussian involvement in the killing
-Three given life imprisonment, imposed a fine of Rs 2 million on each
-Culprits were directed to pay Rs 1 million each to the deceased family
-Court directed Pakistani and British governments to arrest the four absconding accused; Altaf Hussian, Iftikhar Hussain, Mohammad Anwar & Kashif Kamran
By Ajmal Khan Yousafzai
Islamabad: An Islamabad anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Thursday ruled that Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) founder Altaf Hussain ordered the killing of the party’s senior leader Dr Imran Farooq, who was was stabbed to death outside his home in London in September 2010.
According to Judge Shahrukh Arjumand, during the trial of three arrested accused it was “proved that Altaf Hussain ordered the killing of Dr Imran Farooq”.
The court handed life imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs2 million on three men Shamim Khalid, Syed Mohsin Ali and Moazzam Ali and directed them to pay Rs1m each to the deceased doctor’s family.
In its judgement, a copy of which is available with media, the court also directed the Pakistani and United Kingdom governments to arrest the four absconding accused in the case — MQM founder Altaf Hussain, Iftikhar Hussain, Mohammad Anwar and Kashif Kamran.
The court ruled that two senior party leaders based in London “conveyed Hussain’s orders to the relevant people in Pakistan”. The court said it had found that accused Moazzam Ali, another senior member working at Nine Zero (the headquarters of MQM in Karachi) and accused Khalid Shamim engaged accused Syed Mohsin Ali and Kashif Khan Kamran to execute Farooq.
“The two executors were properly facilitated who went with the sole purpose to London for committing the murder and as per pre-planned conspiracy, an innocent person was brutally murdered. “The act of abettors and executors was preconceived with a design to intimidate and overawe the public in general and workers of MQM in particular so that in future no one can raise voice against Altaf Hussain, the leader of MQM,” the judgement stated.
“The motive thus for murdering Imran Farooq upon the orders of Altaf Hussain and other senior [MQM] leadership is proved because of his [Imran Farooq’s] strong position and services in the party.”
The court observed that Dr Farooq’s notes, written and signed by him in 2008, showed that he feared he would be killed on the pretext of trying to become number one in the MQM.
“Existence of that threat also figures in the two confessional statements made by accused and further more Khalid Shamim while directly referring to a conversation with his leader Altaf Hussain states that Altaf Hussain told him that no one can be his number 2, 3 or 1 ½ what to say of number one.”
The British High Commissioner to Pakistan Dr Christian Turner said that the conviction “marked a team effort between law agencies in the UK and Pakistan working together to get justice for the murder of Dr Imran Farooq”.
