Three men sentenced to life for murder of politician in London
British authorities who aided the trial hail the conviction as ‘ground-breaking’
Three Pakistani men who masterminded and carried out the murder of an exiled political rival in London were given life sentences in Pakistan on Thursday.
The conviction was hailed as “ground-breaking” by British authorities who aided the trial.
Imran Farooq, a founding member of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) party, was stabbed and beaten to death in Edgware in northwest London as he returned home from work in September 2010.
The judge at a Pakistan anti-terrorism court sentenced Mohsin Ali, Khalid Shamim and Moazzam Ali to life on “charges of murder under conspiracy and abetment”, special public prosecutor Khwaja Mohammad Imtiaz said.
Call for Altaf’s trial
Besides their life sentences, the three were each fined 1 million rupees (Dh21,970), the prosecutor said.
Imtiaz said the judge also concluded that the murder had been ordered by MQM party chief Altaf Hussain — currently in exile in the UK — and called on the Pakistani and British governments to produce him before a court for trial.
Critics of the MQM — once the most powerful political force in Pakistan’s biggest city of Karachi — have claimed that the killing of Farooq was linked to an internal dispute in the party, which has been run from London by Hussain for over two decades. The MQM have strongly denied the claims.
“Today’s conviction marks a team effort between law agencies in the UK and Pakistan working together to get justice for the murder of Dr Imran Farooq,” said Christian Turner, British High Commissioner to Pakistan Christian Turner.
One convict identified
Only one of the three convicted on Wednesday, Mohsin Ali Syed, was identified by the Met as having been in London to carry out the murder before fleeing the UK. A second man they identified was convicted in absentia.
Farooq was twice elected as an MP in Pakistan, but went into hiding in 1992 when the government ordered a military crackdown against party activists, and claimed asylum in Britain in 1999. He was wanted in Pakistan on scores of charges including torture and murder related to the MQM’s activities.
The MQM was blamed for years of fomenting ethnic violence in the sprawling city.
It clashed repeatedly with authorities until security forces launched a “clean-up” operation in 2013 that was plagued with accusations of extra-judicial killings and which has seen political violence drop significantly in the southern port city.
Imran Farooq was twice elected as an MP in Pakistan, but went into hiding in 1992 when the government ordered a military crackdown against party activists, and claimed asylum in Britain in 1999.