by Murtaza Ali Shah & Zahid Gishkori in The News, Nov 13, 2020
LONDON/ISLAMABAD: Pakistani authorities have declared Altaf Hussain, founder of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), one of the most wanted terrorists of the country, listing him in the Federal Investigation Agency’s Red Book for the first time.
The Red Book, compiled by Counterterrorism Wing (CTW) of the FIA, included names of other MQM leaders like Muhammad Anwar, Iftikhar Hussain and Kashif Khan Kamran, who were declared absconders by anti-terrorism courts in Pakistan.These leaders including MQM founder Altaf Hussain are allegedly involved in the murder case of MQM leader Imran Farooq and they all never joined the investigation. “[They all are] involved in the murder case of Imran Farooq. [They are facing charges under 01/15; dated 04.12.2015, u/s 302, 34, 120-B, 109 PPC, 7 ATA, PS CTW /FIA Islamabad,” read the official FIA document.
Islamabad’s anti-terrorism court in June this year convicted Khalid Shamim, Mohsin Ali and Moazzam Ali all members of MQM to life imprisonment and declared Anwar, Hussain, his cousin and Khan as absconders and called on the UK government to extradite Anwar, Iftikhar Hussain and the MQM founder to Pakistan. The UK government has taken no action on the request so far.
The FIA listed the aforementioned characters for the first time while compiling this document which profiled 1,210 terrorists where the majority – some 737 are wanted to police in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Some 161 suspects are wanted by law-enforcement agencies in Balochistan, over 100 in Sindh, 122 in Punjab, 30 in Gilgit-Baltistan and 32 suspects on the list are wanted by law-enforcement agencies of Islamabad.
A spokesman for the Scotland Yard said the police were in touch with Pakistani authorities and will take action if any actionable new evidence comes up. It’s believed that Kashif Khan Kamran, who helped Mohsin Ali Syed to kill Doctor Farooq, died years ago in police custody in Karachi. There has been no official confirmation of his death and now his name has appeared on the most wanted terrorists list.
On Thursday, Muhammad Anwar told The News he never had anything to do with Doctor Imran Farooq’s killing. The UK police have investigated the case and “found nothing against me and they would have charged me and others of murder if they had been any proof but they didn’t, which shows the allegations are false”. He said those who killed Doctor Imran Farooq have been convicted on the basis of evidence given by the Scotland Yard. He added: “The Scotland Yard investigated the case for ten years. The list by the FIA is politically motivated.”
Dr Imran Farooq, 50, was found dead near his residence in the north London neighbourhood of Edgware on September 16, 2010. He had suffered multiple stab wounds and head injuries. He had been living in exile in the UK for more than a decade when he died.
After convicting Syed, Khan and Shamim, the court in Islamabad has additionally issued an arrest warrant for Altaf Hussain, declaring that he had ordered the killing. Hussain has denied any role in the killing and maintains that Farooq was like a brother to him and that his murder was a conspiracy against him.
https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/743141-altaf-declared-most-wanted-terrorist-in-fia-s-red-book
