A key suspect in the murder case of former Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader Dr Imran Farooq has claimed that he (Farooq) wanted to take the place of party founder Altaf Hussain, a private news channel reported on Friday.
The shocking revelation was made in a confessional statement to a magistrate by Mohsin Ali – one of the key suspects in the high-profile assassination case.
In his confessional statement, Mohsin said that he grabbed Farooq while Kashif —another suspect in the case —attacked the Farooq with a brick and a knife.
The suspect said that top leadership of MQM had ordered Farooq’s murder, adding that he bought knives from a one-pound shop which were concealed by Kashif in the lawn of Farooq’s residence.
Mohsin, in his statement, claimed that September 16 was chosen for Farooq’s assassination to present a ‘gift’ to Altaf Hussain on September 17, which is the birthday of MQM founder.
On Thursday, another suspect in the case Khalid Shamim made similar claims, saying the party founder gave him directions to assassinate Farooq in a telephonic speech to workers in Karachi.
Statement stated that party leader Mohammad Anwar during MQM founder’s speech told him, “Listen to the speech carefully, the Quaid has left a message for you for the future”.
The suspect in the statement quoted Anwar saying that Imran Farooq was establishing another group in the party and it was necessary to stop him.
Farooq, 50, a founding member of the MQM, was stabbed and beaten to death in Edgware, northwest London, as he returned home from work on September 16, 2010.
He 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.
