Army hands over Imran Farooq murder suspects to govt

Mohsin Ali and Khalid Shamim are allegedly affiliated with MQM and are said to have been involved in the murder of the senior MQM leader in London

Security forces on Friday transferred two men allegedly wanted in the murder case of Muttahida Qaumi Movement leader Dr Imran Farooq to Islamabad, a day after the suspects were reportedly arrested from the border town of Chaman in Balochistan.

Personnel of the Frontier Corps had taken the suspects – identified as Mohsin Ali and Khalid Shamim from Karachi – into custody when they crossed into Pakistan from Afghanistan on Thursday.

An FC spokesman had said Thursday that they would hand over the two accused to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) for further interrogation. The FC spokesman had initially claimed that the two men said they belonged to a Karachi-based political party.

But the Interior Ministry on Friday said that it was premature to say anything about the political affiliation of the two suspects.

In a press statement, the Interior Ministry said that the inspector general (IG) of the FC had spoken to Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali and briefed him about the arrests. The statement said that the evidence on record against the suspects is the one that the British authorities gave to Pakistan. It added that the process of investigation would begin after completing all legal formalities.

Dr Farooq, a prominent member of the MQM was murdered in 2010 outside his residence in London as a result of multiple stabs and a blow to his head.

Dr Imran Farooq was twice elected a member of parliament in Pakistan, but went into hiding in 1992 when the government ordered a military crackdown against party activists in Karachi. He later claimed asylum in Britain in 1999.

The Metropolitan Police and Scotland Yard have previously said that they were in contact with Pakistani authorities over the interrogation of two suspects, allegedly in Pakistan’s custody.