- MQM chief back in police custody after doctors find no major health risk
- FO says Altaf Hussain’s passport and NICOP will be issued after completion of investigation, says MQM has not sought legal assistance from government
- Normalcy returns to Karachi as MQM offers prayers for Hussain’s health
The London Metropolitan Police shifted Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain to the police station on Friday after he was discharged from the hospital.
Hussain had undergone an angiography in the hospital on Thursday and had been cleared by doctors at the hospital where he was being held before being shifted to the police station.
Hussain was arrested by London Met Police Tuesday on suspicion of money-laundering.
Imran Mirza, the acting Pakistani high commissioner to the UK, had said Thursday that the police would question Hussain after he was discharged from the hospital.
Police had concluded the search of Hussain’s house on Thursday which had been going on since 5:30am on Tuesday.
The Scotland Yard told a local news channel that the time which Hussain spent in the hospital would not be included in the detention period.
They said the MQM chief was arrested on Tuesday but he remained in the police station for a little time, therefore, the 72-hour detention law would not be applicable on him.
The detention period would begin again when the MQM chief returned to the police station from hospital.
NICOP, PASSPORT AFTER PROBE:
In Islamabad, Foreign Office spokeswoman Tasneem Aslam said Hussain’s passport and National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistanis (NICOP) would be released after completion of relevant investigation.
The FO spokesperson said she did not know the details of the charges pressed against the MQM chief.
Aslam also said that the Pakistani government is ready to extend all possible legal assistance to the MQM chief but so far there had been no such request either from Hussain or his legal team.
NORMALCY RETURNS TO KARACHI:
Meanwhile in the MQM’s stronghold of Karachi, life and business activities returned to normalcy after three days in the economic hub of the country, as markets, petrol pumps and hotels reopened on the MQM’s appeal on Friday.
Karachi remained virtually shut for three days after Hussain’s arrest in the United Kingdom.
The MQM had appealed the traders to open markets on Thursday, though announced to carry on their protest sit-in.
The MQM supporters also observed ‘Youm-e-Dua’ for Hussain’s health and long life.
Senior MQM leader Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui read out a message from the party chief who asked his workers to continue their peaceful struggle and maintain unity among their ranks.