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                        <title>The Express Tribune</title>
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			<title>Imran Farooq’s murder: Court seeks report on missing man linked to murder</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/581064/imran-farooqs-murder-court-seeks-report-on-missing-man-linked-to-murder</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/581064/imran-farooqs-murder-court-seeks-report-on-missing-man-linked-to-murder#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 23 Jul 13 19:09:28 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[our.correspondent]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=581064</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The missing man was an employee of the KWSB who went missing in 2011.]]>
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				<![CDATA[An employee of the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) - who disappeared allegedly due to some links he had with the murder of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader Dr Imran Farooq - is still missing and the court wants to know what has been done to recover him.

At a hearing on Tuesday, the Sindh High Court directed the federal law officer to file a progress report by August 28 on the efforts made to recover Khalid Shamim, who went missing in January 2011, a few months after the high-profile murder of Dr Imran Farooq in London.



On September 16, 2010, 50-year-old Farooq was on his way home from work when he was attacked in Green Lane, outside his London home. The post-mortem examination revealed that he died from multiple stab wounds.

Seemingly unrelated to the incident, Khalid Shamim was picked up by some authorities in Karachi in January 2011, said his wife, Beena Khalid. In her petition in the high court. Beena said that the family was in a car and Khalid stopped at an ATM in Malir when some men belonging to the law enforcement agencies whisked him away. The incident was witnessed by many people but no one could help her, she claimed.

According to her, Khalid was neither involved in any criminal activities nor was he affiliated with any political party. Later, the authorities said that Khalid along with another man was taken into custody from Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport in connection with the murder case of Dr Imran Farooq.

During Tuesday’s hearing, the petitioner Beena Khalid said she was receiving threatening calls from unknown numbers and callers were harassing and hurling life threats.



Headed by Justice Ghulam Sarwar Korai, the bench also directed SSP East and Model Colony SHO to provide protection to the missing person’s wife. The bench also directed SHC’s assistant registrar to immediately communicate the court orders to the relevant police officials via telephone so they can arrange her security at the earliest.

Filling the gaps

Some time after Beena went to court to file a petition on her missing husband, news broke that two men have been arrested from Karachi airport for their alleged involvement in the murder of Dr Farooq. The two men were reportedly taken into custody from Jinnah airport as soon as they arrived from Sri Lanka. One of the men was later identified as Khalid.

It was reported that a Pakistani intelligence agency picked him up from the airport and managed to take him into custody, following leads provided by the British government. A political activist, Fahim Siddiqui, was also taken into custody on the information allegedly provided by Khalid.

An official said that Khalid was called to Karachi by his companions to kill him as soon as he would have arrived to make sure no one else gets to him first. Some officials believed Khalid has been taken into custody to provide him protection and investigate the murder with his help.

Nevertheless, the police or any intelligence agencies have come forward with Khalid’s arrest and there are no cases registered against him at any police station in Karachi, or London. A senior police official told The Express Tribune that it is a high-profile matter. Even the police do not have any information about Khalid or his companion, he said.

On November 11, 2012, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe disclosed, however, to Geo News that two suspects were in the custody of Pakistani authorities over suspicions that they killed Dr Farooq. The authorities have yet to confirm whether these suspects are still in Pakistani custody or have been handed over to Scotland Yard.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 24th, 2013.]]>
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			<title>Drawing a line: ‘MQM won’t let British police interfere in party matters’</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/572653/drawing-a-line-mqm-wont-let-british-police-interfere-in-party-matters</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/572653/drawing-a-line-mqm-wont-let-british-police-interfere-in-party-matters#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 04 Jul 13 21:28:43 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[our.correspondent]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=572653</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Dr Farooq Sattar says they will cooperate in murder investigations.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) will cooperate with the British police in their investigations into the murder of their founder member, Dr Imran Farooq, but it will not allow them to interfere in the party’s political matters.

MQM’s parliamentarian Dr Farooq Sattar shared these views with The Express Tribune on Thursday. “We want the killers of Dr Farooq to be arrested as soon as possible but we won’t accept their interference into our party matters.”

On Thursday, MQM chief Altaf Hussain also addressed the members of the Rabita Committee and told them that the country was going through a sensitive time as it faced huge challenges, such as the worsening law and order, and internal and external dangers. To overcome these challenges and to become a progressive nation, people should work together and play their part, he said.

Altaf, who last Sunday had created uproar by voluntarily stepping down as party head, and then took back his decision, did not discuss anything in his address about the ongoing murder investigations of Dr Imran Farooq.



The MQM chief had resigned after he accepted that the Scotland Yard had carried out a raid at his house in June over suspicions of money laundering and his involvement in the murder. After the workers and his supporters pleaded, he took back his resignation.

Farooq, who was the founder member of the party, was found murdered outside his home in London in 2010. A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police in London had told The Express Tribune that a significant amount of money was seized in the raid from the house of the MQM chief. However, the spokesperson did not disclose whether the politician is being questioned over it. Another spokesperson said that if a money laundering case is established, then it would be treated as a financial case, separate from the murder case of Dr Imran Farooq.



Meanwhile, the MQM is filing its candidates for MPAs on seats which are vacant in Orangi Town, North Nazimabad and Korangi. It will announce the final list of candidates by next week.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 5th, 2013.]]>
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			<title>Altaf Hussain interrogation carried out as per UK law, govt kept informed: Nisar</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/572445/altaf-hussain-interrogation-carried-out-as-per-uk-law-govt-kept-informed-nisar</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/572445/altaf-hussain-interrogation-carried-out-as-per-uk-law-govt-kept-informed-nisar#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 04 Jul 13 10:36:43 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[web.desk]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=572445</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[To resolve  matters of namaloom afrad, Aafia Siddiqui and terrorism, 3 task forces will submit reports in 2 weeks.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said in a statement, on Thursday, that Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Chief Altaf Hussain’s interrogation is being carried out according to UK laws, Express News reported.

Recently, on June 20, as part of their investigation on the Imran Farooq murder case, Scotland Yard had raided Hussain’s London house and some material was seized from his residence.

Following this Altaf Hussain resigned as party head on June 30, voluntarily handing over party’s authority and responsibilities to the Rabita Committee, only to take back the decision of resignation few hours later on request of his party workers.

The interrogation is being carried out in London and not in Pakistan but the Pakistani government is being kept informed, Chaudhry Nisar added.

Commenting on other issues faced by the country, Nisar said to resolve the matters concerning namaloom afrad, Aafia Siddiqui and terrorism three task forces will submit their reports in two weeks.

In June, British police arrested 52-year-old Iftikhar Hussain at Heathrow Airport and took him to the West London police station as part of the investigation process.

He also expressed concern over the situation in Egypt and said that Egyptian people should be given a chance to choose their own government.

___________________________________________________________

[poll id="1165"]]]>
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			<title>Dr Imran Farooq’s murder: If Altaf accepts verdict, so will MQM, says Haider Abbas</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/571728/dr-imran-farooqs-murder-if-altaf-accepts-verdict-so-will-mqm-says-haider-abbas</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/571728/dr-imran-farooqs-murder-if-altaf-accepts-verdict-so-will-mqm-says-haider-abbas#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 03 Jul 13 04:32:28 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[shahzeb.khanzada]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=571728</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Says MQM chief has said he would accept the court decision.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Muttahida Qaumi Movement leader Haider Abbas Rizvi said if party chief Altaf Hussain accepted the verdict of the British court in Dr Imran Farooq’s murder case, even if it went against him, then the party would also follow suit.


Speaking on the Express News programme ‘To The Point’ on Tuesday, Rizvi said he was unaware of the arrest of two suspects associated with MQM in Pakistan.  He added that Hussain has said as a matter of principle, he would accept the court decision be it in his favour or against him.

Replying to a question about a story published in The Express Tribune that two men belonging to MQM had visited Britain around the time of Dr Farooq’s murder in 2010 and were arrested on their return home via Sri Lanka, Rizvi said he paid no importance to such stories as he was daily presented with a lot of such stories appearing in newspapers.

The party leader added that MQM was concerned that those who murdered Dr Farooq could also think of doing the same with the party chief in London. When asked what would happen if Hussain was arrested, he said he never commented on speculative questions.

When asked who the party’s second-in-command was, Rizvi stated that decisions are taken by the MQM Coordination Committee and the party workers accept these decisions. He said MQM has a very strong system in place for making important decisions.

Speaking on the menace of extortion, Rizvi said some MQM workers may have been involved in the practice and other similar misdemeanors, but that his party was not the only one that had such members. He added that there were around 150 MQM workers in jails.

Rizvi said five of the party workers were arrested from their homes in front of their families and it was their right that authorities announce their arrests. “Rangers can arrest our workers according to the law but their arrests should be made known.”

Rizvi said that changing the governor of Sindh was a decision that the federation, and not MQM, had to make. He said that as soon as the situation improves, the results of the referendum about MQM joining the Sindh government will be announced. Commenting on his party’s alliance with the Pakistan Peoples Party in the Sindh government during the last five years, Rizvi stated it was a fruitless effort.  

Published in The Express Tribune, July 3rd, 2013.]]>
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			<title>MQM chief Altaf Hussain takes back his resignation</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/570372/altaf-hussain-resigns-as-mqm-chief</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/570372/altaf-hussain-resigns-as-mqm-chief#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 30 Jun 13 04:41:50 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[web.desk]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=570372</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Says he might not be a leader in the eyes of the international community but he is one for the people of Pakistan.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Chief of Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) Altaf Hussain, who had resigned as party head early Sunday morning, took back his resignation on request of his party workers, Express News reported.

MQM chief said he might not be a leader in the eyes of the international community but he is one for the people of Pakistan.

Earlier today, Hussain had voluntarily handed over party’s authority and responsibilities to the Rabita Committee.

Addressing his party members from London, Hussain had said his decision to resign comes after his house in the UK was raided by the Scotland Yard and some material was seized in relation to Dr Imran Farooq’s murder case.

Speaking about Dr Farooq’s murder case, Hussain had said he will not hire any lawyer to fight for him in the court and that he would plead the case himself.

He added that he will accept the court's decision in this case.

Soon after the decision was announced, party members started gathering outside MQM's headquarter Nine Zero in Karachi. The members requested Hussain to take back his resignation.

Farooq’s murder case

Founding member of MQM, Dr Farooq was stabbed to death in Green Lane on Edgware Road on 16 September, 2010 – but leads in the case have been few and far between – or at least not publicised. The anti-terrorist unit of the Metropolitan Police had said that, a few months before his murder, Dr Farooq had been trying to create his own independent political “profile”.

The police force had hinted about the possibility that Dr Farooq might have been thinking of embarking on a new political career, and, therefore, it wanted to talk to everyone who were in contact with him from a political perspective.

It also noted that Dr Farooq had created a new Facebook profile in 2010 and had established many new contacts on the social forum.]]>
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			<title>Iftikhar Hussain held in Imran Farooq murder case</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/567947/detained-in-london-suspect-in-imran-farooq-murder-held</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/567947/detained-in-london-suspect-in-imran-farooq-murder-held#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 25 Jun 13 04:32:36 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[afp]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=567947</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Hussain, 52, is said to be a close relative of a top Pakistani politician.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[British authorities have contacted their Pakistani counterparts in connection with the arrest in London on Monday of a suspect in Imran Farooq murder case, seeking permission to investigate some suspects in Pakistan as well.


British police investigating the 2010 murder of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader said on Monday that they had arrested a man in connection with the case after he arrived in the city on a flight from Canada.

Counter-terrorism detectives arrested the 52-year-old man, identified as Iftikhar Hussain, at Heathrow Airport in the morning and took him to the West London police station, revealed a police statement.

The detainee, sources familiar with the developments alleged, is a close relative of a top Pakistan politician.



The suspect was reached through forensic investigations using evidence gathered by security officials.

Scotland Yard, headquarters for London’s Metropolitan Police Service, has sought the Call Detail Record (CDR) including text messages of the detained suspect. Sources also say that police had warned other suspects to stay put in the city till investigation was complete.

Additionally, London authorities have enhanced suspects’ surveillance.

Coordinating across seas

The UK authorities contacted the Pakistani government shortly after Hussain’s arrest. Murder suspects in Pakistan are likely to be investigated in connection with the murder of Dr Imran Farooq, particularly after revelations by the freshly detained suspect, sources further state.

Around 3,000 people have been interviewed by Scotland Yard officials in the past 2 years as part of their investigations of the murder

Prior to Hussain’s arrest, two houses in the custody of Muttahida Qaumi Movement activists were searched for evidence by the police. One house was owned by the MQM chief Altaf Hussain, while the other was owned by a man named Akhtar.

Farooq, 50, was a former leader of MQM and had lived in London in self-imposed exile from 1999.

_____________________________________________________________

[poll id="1152"]

Published in The Express Tribune, June 25th, 2013.]]>
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			<title>Imran Farooq murder: Scotland Yard arrests suspect in London</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/567650/imran-farooq-murder-scotland-yard-arrests-suspect-in-london</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/567650/imran-farooq-murder-scotland-yard-arrests-suspect-in-london#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 24 Jun 13 11:36:20 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[reuters]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=567650</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The name of the suspect was revealed to be Iftikhar Hussain.]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[British police investigating the murder of exiled Pakistani politician Imran Farooq in London nearly three years ago said they had arrested a man at Heathrow airport on Monday on suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder.

The 52-year-old man, a British citizen of Pakistani origin, was detained by counter-terrorism officers as he arrived on a flight from Canada and was taken to a West London police station, police added in a statement.

The name of the suspect was revealed to be Iftikhar Hussain. 


Data recovered from his cell phone is likely to lead to other arrests, Express News reported.

Authorities have barred Hussain from leaving the city.

The suspect was reached on the basis of forensic investigations using the evidence gathered by the security officials.

Around 3,000 people have been interviewed by Scotland Yard officials in the past 2 years as part of their investigation on the murder. Search operations were held for up to 40 hours.

Prior to the arrest, 2 houses used by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) were searched for evidence. One house was owned by the MQM Chief Altaf Husain and the other by a man named Akhtar.

Farooq, 50, was a former leader of MQM and had lived in London in self-imposed exile from 1999.

He was on his way back from work when he was attacked outside his home in Edgware, north London, in September 2010.

A post-mortem gave the cause of death as multiple stab wounds and blunt trauma to the head. A kitchen knife and a house brick used in the attack were recovered at the scene.

The MQM, a secular party, has been locked in a battle with various rivals for influence in Pakistan, particularly in Karachi, its main powerbase in the country.

______________________________________________________________

[poll id="1152"]]]>
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			<title>Imran Farooq murder: London police raid house registered to Altaf Hussain</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/565961/imran-farooq-murder-london-police-raid-house-registered-to-altaf-hussain</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/565961/imran-farooq-murder-london-police-raid-house-registered-to-altaf-hussain#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 20 Jun 13 16:57:18 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[web.desk]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
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			<description>
				<![CDATA[The search operation continued for over 55 hours.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[As part of their investigation on the Imran Farooq murder case, Scotland Yard raided two houses on Thursday, one of which is registered under Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief, Altaf Hussain's name, Express News reported.

"The search operation continued for over 55 hours," said Naseem Siddiqui, Express News correspondent.

"One of the two houses that were raided was registered under MQM's chief name," reported Siddiqui.

A Money Laundering Squad was also present during the search operation.

Siddiqui reported that no arrests were made during the search.

Imran Farooq, a founding member of the MQM, was attacked nearly three years ago as he returned home from work in September 2010. He died from multiple stab wounds and blunt trauma to the head, according to a post-mortem examination.]]>
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			<title>Imran Farooq murder: Scotland Yard officers raid more houses in London</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/565334/imran-farooq-murder-scotland-yard-officers-raid-more-houses-in-london</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/565334/imran-farooq-murder-scotland-yard-officers-raid-more-houses-in-london#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 19 Jun 13 10:35:13 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[web.desk]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=565334</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The police had raided two houses in the same area on June 18.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Continuing their search to find the murderer of former Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) parliamentarian Dr Imran Farooq, the Scotland Yard anti-terrorism officers raided houses in London on Wednesday, Express News reported.

The police had raided two houses in the same area on June 18. A British-Pakistani was also interrogated in relation to this case.

The latest search operations represent the first public sign of progress in the case after a hiatus of more than a year, although London’s Metropolitan Police Service insisted the investigation remained “active”.” The searches are continuing.

Detectives had previously said that while they were open-minded about the motive, the attack would have required careful planning and Farooq’s killers may have had help.

In September 2011, one year after Farooq’s murder, police had offered a reward of £20,000 for information that helps lead to a prosecution in an attempt to find clues to the attack.

Background

Dr Farooq was stabbed to death in Green Lane on Edgware Road on 16 September, 2010 – but leads in the case have been few and far between – or at least not publicised. The anti-terrorist unit of the Metropolitan Police had said that, a few months before his murder, Dr Farooq had been trying to create his own independent political “profile”.

The police force had hinted about the possibility that Dr Farooq might have been thinking of embarking on a new political career, and, therefore, it wanted to talk to everyone who were in contact with him from a political perspective.

It also noted that Dr Farooq had created a new Facebook profile in 2010 and had established many new contacts on the social forum.]]>
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			<title>Imran Farooq murder: Scotland Yard raids two houses in London</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/564809/imran-farooq-murder-scotland-yard-raids-two-houses-in-london</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/564809/imran-farooq-murder-scotland-yard-raids-two-houses-in-london#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 18 Jun 13 10:35:29 +0500</pubDate>
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				<![CDATA[web.desk]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
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			<description>
				<![CDATA[A Pakistani-British was also interrogated in relation to the case.]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[The Scotland Yard anti-terrorism unit raided two houses in London in connection with the murder of former Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) parliamentarian Dr Imran Farooq, Express News reported on Tuesday.

The houses were located close to the deceased parliamentarian’s own residence. The raid lasted for five hours and police took evidence into custody.

A Pakistani-British was also interrogated in relation to this case today.

Background

Dr Farooq was stabbed to death in Green Lane on Edgware Road on 16 September, 2010 – but leads in the case have been few and far between – or at least not publicised. The anti-terrorist unit of the Metropolitan Police had said that, a few months before his murder, Dr Farooq had been trying to create his own independent political “profile”.

The police force had hinted about the possibility that Dr Farooq might have been thinking of embarking on a new political career, and, therefore, it wanted to talk to everyone who were in contact with him from a political perspective.

It also noted that Dr Farooq had created a new Facebook profile in 2010 and had established many new contacts on the social forum.

&nbsp;]]>
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			<title>Imran Farooq's wish to pursue politics independently led to his murder: London police</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/436562/imran-farooqs-wish-to-pursue-politics-independently-led-to-his-murder-london-police</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/436562/imran-farooqs-wish-to-pursue-politics-independently-led-to-his-murder-london-police#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 14 Sep 12 08:32:07 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[web.desk]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=436562</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[London Metropolitan Police launch appeal for any information linked to the assassination of MQM leader.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[London Metropolitan Police have hinted that slain high-profile Muttahida Qaumi Movement leader, Dr Imran Farooq's wish to actively participate in politics by pursuing his political career independently might have led to his murder, Express News reported Friday.

The Metropolitan Police, also known as Scotland Yard, said that he was killed because his murderers did not want him to do so.

Appealing for an investigation, the Metropolitan police also announced a £20,000 reward for providing any information linked to his assassination.

Dr Farooq made a profile on a social media site which could help foster his political career, two months prior to his murder.

Farooq was murdered in a knife attack in the Edgware district of London late on September 16, 2010.

Detectives had revealed that he was killed with two kitchen knives sold in discount stores and online and a house brick may also have been used in the attack.

CCTV footage of his final hours, released by police, had images of him at an underground train station as he travelled to work on the morning of his death.]]>
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			<title>Imran Farooq murder: Diplomatic channels approached over missing Khalid Shamim</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/300351/dr-imran-farooq-murder-diplomatic-channels-approached-over-missing-khalid-shamim</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/300351/dr-imran-farooq-murder-diplomatic-channels-approached-over-missing-khalid-shamim#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 30 Nov 11 20:32:27 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[express]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=300351</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Civil Aviation Authority says CCTV footage not available.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Diplomatic channels have been approached to ascertain the whereabouts of Khalid Shamim, an employee of the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board, allegedly in the custody of law enforcing agencies in connection with the murder of Dr Imran Farooq of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement.

Appearing before a division bench of the Sindh High Court comprising Chief Justice Mushir Alam and Justice Ahmed Ali M Sheikh on Wednesday, Additional Advocate General Sindh, Sarwar Khan, submitted a letter by a joint secretary of the federal law ministry, stating that information has been sought from the British diplomatic channel about the whereabouts of Khalid Shamim. He assured that court would be informed accordingly. The bench ordered that such information be submitted on, or before, the next hearing.

The bench was hearing a petition filed by Beena Khalid, who went to court for the recovery of her husband, Khalid Shamim, missing since June 5, 2011. She stated that Shamim went to draw money from an ATM at Malir Halt, when personnel of law enforcing agencies whisked him away in two cars bearing official registration number plates.

Sarwar Khan also informed the court that Shamim has not been handed over to any agency within or outside Pakistan.

Later, an official of the Airport Security Force, appearing on court notice, stated that the SHO concerned had sought CCTV footage but it was not available because of a limited recording capacity. It is deleted once the memory overflows.

The court noted with concern that the LEA came into action only when a case comes before a court of law.

The bench also inquired from the investigating officer about the information sought from two local newspapers, one each in Urdu and English, that carried the story about the arrest of the missing Khalid Shamim and his alleged connection with the murder of Dr Imran Farooq. The investigating officer was directed to inquire about the source of the news item.

As he told the court that he has written letters to the newspapers’ management, the bench said that he should “personally visit the places and extract the necessary information.”

The court adjourned the proceedings till December 13 when all such other petitions were fixed for hearing.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 1st, 2011.

&nbsp;]]>
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			<title>Contradictory reports: No arrests in Imran Farooq murder case, says Malik</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/291531/contradictory-reports-no-arrests-in-imran-farooq-murder-case-says-malik</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/291531/contradictory-reports-no-arrests-in-imran-farooq-murder-case-says-malik#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 14 Nov 11 03:55:02 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[agencies]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category><category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=291531</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Interior minister also says report will be submitted on Jhelum operation.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Interior Minister Rehman Malik has said that contrary to media reports, no arrests have been made in connection with former Muttahida Qaumi Movement leader Imran Farooq’s murder case. He added that no letter was written to the interior ministry. The London police, he said, had written a letter on the other hand to the foreign ministry asking for information.

Talking to reporters on Sunday he said that politicians should avoid propaganda against security agencies and stop trying to malign them through political manoeuvres.

Malik also said that the Punjab interior secretary will be asked to submit a report on the failed crackdown on militants in Jhelum on Friday.

‘Wait till elections’

The interior minister also said that the elections will “prove who is popular and how much”.

He said that Pakistan needs unity at this juncture, and everyone should do what they can in this regard. However, he emphasised that a ‘tit for tat’ attitude would be adopted and anyone ‘calling names’ in politics would receive a similar response.

Public gatherings are considered healthy activities in politics, but arguments should be democratic in nature, as opposed to merely levelling charges, the interior minister said.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 14th,  2011.]]>
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			<title>Dr Imran Farooq murder: London police arrest 2 suspects</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/290282/dr-imran-farooq-murder-london-police-arrest-2-suspects</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/290282/dr-imran-farooq-murder-london-police-arrest-2-suspects#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 11 Nov 11 14:29:18 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[express]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=290282</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The two suspects were reportedly arrested from the Karachi Airport at least two months ago.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[London police commisioner Bernard Hogan-Howe has confirmed that two alleged killers of MQM’s leader Dr Imran Farooq were arrested in Karachi.

The Police Commissioner has been quoted by a London-based newspaper stating that the killers would not be allowed to roam freely on the streets of London.

He also said that London Police is working with Pakistan in Dr Imran Farooq's murder case.

Imran Farooq, who was a prominent MQM leader, was killed last year on September 16, outside his residence in London.

The two suspects were reportedly arrested from the Karachi Airport at least two months ago but Pakistani police never confirmed their arrest.

The arrest of the suspects has finally been confirmed by the British police today.

In August this year, the MQM had urged the media to refrain from spreading “unfounded speculations” about arrests made in Dr Imran Farooq’s murder case.

A statement issued by MQM’s coordination committee said that news reports on two people being arrested at the Karachi airport were “devoid of truth, baseless and concocted.”

The committee said that the purpose behind these “fabricated and malicious” reports was nothing but to “tarnish the image of the MQM and damage its reputation.”

Background

Dr Farooq, one of the founding members of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement and its forerunner the All Pakistan Muhajir Student Organisation (APMSO) was born in June 14, 1960.

The veteran MQM leader held several posts in the MQM, serving as its first secretary-general and convener, besides being elected to the National Assembly and the party’s parliamentary leader in 1988 and 1990. He was regarded as one of the party’s main ideologues, responsible for the political education of its supporters. After the Nawaz Sharif-led government launched a crackdown on MQM in 1992, Dr Farooq, like other party leaders, went into hiding. Later, he escaped to England in 1999, claiming political asylum there. He got married in 2004. Dr Farooq, 50, is believed to have been attacked on his way home in Green Lane, Edgware.

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly mentioned that that the 1992 operation in Karachi was under the PPP-led government. This is incorrect. The error is regretted.]]>
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			<title>Imran Farooq murder case: SHC seeks missing accused’s travel record</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/258441/imran-farooq-murder-case-shc-seeks-missing-accused%e2%80%99s-travel-record</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/258441/imran-farooq-murder-case-shc-seeks-missing-accused%e2%80%99s-travel-record#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 23 Sep 11 04:48:08 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[zeeshan.mujahid]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Sindh]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=258441</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[SHC tells state to file report in 14 days.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[The Sindh High Court has directed the state to file the most recent travel details of a missing employee of the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board, who is allegedly involved in the Imran Farooq murder case.

The order came on Thursday as a SHC division bench, comprising Chief Justice Musheer Alam and Justice Imam Bux Baloch, was hearing a petition filed by KWSB employee Khalid Shamim’s wife Beena Shamim.

The court was informed that as per Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) records, Khalid Shamim travelled abroad frequently. “As per information gathered on Shamim, he was politically affiliated with the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM),” said SSP East Ahsan Umar. Relying on a news report from an Urdu daily, Umar submitted that law enforcement agencies took Shamim into custody from Karachi airport with another man in connection with Farooq’s murder.

A senior member of the MQM, Imran Farooq was mysteriously murdered outside his home in London in September last year.

He said that FIA Islamabad has been asked to provide details of Shamim’s international travel from January 1 to date.

In her petition, Beena said that on January 6, she and her husband stopped at an ATM in Malir Halt when her husband was abducted. She said that the kidnappers were travelling in two vehicles, of which one had a green number plate while the other had a white number plate.

She prayed the court to direct law enforcement agencies to divulge the whereabouts of her missing husband and release him from illegal custody as he was not produced before any court of law since his abduction.

She also claimed that Shamim had never travelled even outside Sindh but this was disputed by the respondent state authorities, at which the bench sought a report into the claim within four weeks. The bench was told that Shamim had frequently travelled abroad, including to South Africa and Sri Lanka.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 23rd,  2011.]]>
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			<title>A year on: Imran Farooq’s killers still evade UK police</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/253833/a-year-on-imran-farooq%e2%80%99s-killers-still-evade-uk-police</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/253833/a-year-on-imran-farooq%e2%80%99s-killers-still-evade-uk-police#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 17 Sep 11 05:38:49 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[express]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=253833</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Dr Farooq, 50, is believed to have been attacked on his way home in Green Lane, Edgware.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[A year after Dr Imran Farooq was brutally murdered in London on September 16 last year, the British police are still no closer to unmasking his killers.


Dr Farooq, one of the founding members of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement and its forerunner the All Pakistan Muhajir Student Organisation (APMSO) was born in June 14, 1960.

The veteran MQM leader held several posts in the MQM, serving as its first secretary-general and convener, besides being elected to the National Assembly and the party’s parliamentary leader in 1988 and 1990. He was regarded as one of the party’s main ideologues, responsible for the political education of its supporters. After the Pakistan Peoples Party-led government launched a crackdown on MQM in 1992, Dr Farooq, like other party leaders, went into hiding. Later, he escaped to England in 1999, claiming political asylum there. He got married in 2004. Dr Farooq, 50, is believed to have been attacked on his way home in Green Lane, Edgware.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 17th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Imran Farooq murder: British police offers £20,000 reward</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/253457/imran-farooq-murder-british-police-offers-20000-reward</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/253457/imran-farooq-murder-british-police-offers-20000-reward#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 16 Sep 11 04:13:31 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[agencies]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=253457</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Police said they believe the attack would have required careful planning and Farooq’s killers may have had help.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[British police offered a reward of £20,000 on Thursday for information about the murder of Imran Farooq in London one year ago. The founding member of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), was attacked as he returned home from work on Sept 16, 2010. A post-mortem found he had died from multiple stab wounds and blunt trauma to the head.


“We still believe there are people out there who hold vital information that could assist the investigation and have not yet come forward,”said Detective Chief Superintendent Neil Basu of London’s Metropolitan Police.

Police said they believe the attack would have required careful planning and Farooq’s killers may have had help,
including from innocent people.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 16th,  2011.]]>
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			<title>Altaf Hussain’s speech: Rivals heap scorn, PPP sees upside</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/249871/altaf-hussain%e2%80%99s-speech-rivals-heap-scorn-ppp-sees-upside</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/249871/altaf-hussain%e2%80%99s-speech-rivals-heap-scorn-ppp-sees-upside#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 11 Sep 11 04:31:55 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[zahid.gishkori]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=249871</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[PML-N chief counters allegations; ANP leadership denies charges of receiving foreign funds for elections.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[As the din from ongoing political recriminations grows shriller in the country, the Awami National Party and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz gave acerbic responses to Friday’s marathon speech by Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain.


In a bad cop-good cop routine – more often associated with the government – the Awami National Party (ANP) leadership moved to rubbish allegations levelled at the party while the PPP leadership welcomed the address by Altaf as a step towards reconciliation.

At the same time, the PML-N countered MQM allegations by accusing the party of supporting PCO judges against the spirit of the Charter of Democracy.

At a press conference at the Peshawar Press Club, ANP provincial president Afrasiab Khattak rejected Altaf’s allegations and alleged that the MQM chief had the “blood of Pashtuns on his hands”. Addressing allegations of the ANP misleading Pashtuns, Khattak said that the MQM chief should consider the thoughts of those watching Pashtun bodies from Karachi piling up in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Fata and Balochistan.

“Nobody has killed more Pashtuns than the MQM,” said the ANP leader, adding that the “ANP didn’t need a certificate of patriotism from Altaf Hussain.” He further said that Altaf had ‘verbally abused’ all political parties during his press conference except for the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) so that the MQM could get ‘seats’ from them.

Nawaz Sharif in Nawabshah

Chief of his own faction of the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) Nawaz Sharif turned the tables on the Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) leader Altaf Hussain on Saturday, accusing his party of supporting PCO judges against the spirit of the Charter of Democracy. “Altaf Hussain should know that the CoD was signed before the action on Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. We signed it in 2006 and the CJ’s [restoration] movement began in 2007,” Nawaz said, while briefing the media in Benazirabad on Saturday.

Responding to his party’s position on the Karachi violence, Nawaz praised the Supreme Court for taking the suo motu notice of the violence. “The faces behind the bloodshed in Karachi should be unmasked and brought to justice.”

Nawaz also emphasised the need to ‘do away’ with politics in order to restore peace in Karachi. “There should be no politics. Forget politics and save Pakistan,” he said.

Challenge to return

ANP leader Senator Zahid Khan said there was a shadow of fear around Altaf Hussain during his press conference, adding that he acted like “a person who does not know what to say.” He further said that if anyone had any allegations against the ANP they should come to the courts.

Khan said in response to Altaf Hussain’s statement on “foreign powers” working against Pakistan, adding that the MQM chief himself was a national of one of the powers he had mentioned. “Altaf should tear up his passport and documents and return to Pakistan if there was such a conspiracy,” he said.

Responding to the MQM chief’s statement that his party did not put up containers in the city on May 12, Khan said the MQM had its own home minister in place at that time and that the ports and shipping minister was from their party too. “The containers were taken from Port Qasim. The ports and shipping minister was from the MQM at that time too,” said Khan.

Reiterating the demand for a probe into the episode of May 12, 2007, he said without investigations into the incident peace could not be established in Karachi.

‘Role in Imran Farooq’s murder’

ANP leader Shahi Syed hit back at Hussain’s speech with an accusation of his own, saying Altaf Hussain was involved in the murder of Dr Imran Farooq, adding that international agencies had proof on the subject. Speaking to the media in Karachi, he said the MQM should focus on national politics.

Rubbishing all claims, Syed said MQM failed to address any of Zulfiqar Ali Mirza’s allegations, even after holding three press conferences, adding that Altaf’s allegations had come because the ANP lawyer had provided solid facts to the chief justice during the suo motu hearing.

‘Good cop’

Welcoming the address by the MQM chief, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) termed Hussain’s speech as a positive and important step towards democracy and the strengthening of its institutions.  “Altaf Hussain is a key political figure and MQM is crucial for strengthening and continuation of democracy,” said senior PPP leader Fauzia Wahab.

The PPP leader believed that Hussain’s speech was an important step forward and crucial for the country’s politics, adding that there was hope in the PPP camp that MQM would soon return to the government as a coalition partner and play a positive role in the strengthening of democratic institutions.

(Additional input from Peer Muhammad in Islamabad and Manzoor Ali in Peshawar)

 

Published in The Express Tribune, September 11th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>London calling: Altaf Hussain hits back at friends, foes</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/248847/altaf-hussain-addresses-televised-press-conference</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/248847/altaf-hussain-addresses-televised-press-conference#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 09 Sep 11 18:59:49 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[saba.imtiaz]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=248847</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Expresses fear for life, blames Peoples Amn Committee for violence, ANP for foreign funding.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[It was one of the few press conferences Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain has addressed since his self-imposed exile in London, and one that few will forget.


Hussain made no explosive statements, but one was fairly telling of how the next few months may look for Karachi.

Referring to the number of Urdu-speaking community members who have been killed in Karachi in the past few months, Hussain warned that “if action is not taken, I will take back the appeal for calm issued to MQM workers.”

“Are you scared of going into the areas where they have killed Mohajirs?” he asked, addressing his party.

Hussain repeated the comment during the question and answer session, and said that if the MQM workers are free, they are free to make whatever demands they want.

The MQM leader repeatedly addressed many of the allegations made against the party in recent years, but chose not to refer to the ones made by former Sindh home minister Zulfiqar Mirza in the past couple of weeks.

He repeatedly addressed President Asif Ali Zardari, who he referred to as a brother, as well as Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP), Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and Inter-Services Intelligence head Lt Gen Ahmad Shuja Pasha.

“Where are you, Chief Justice sahib? Where are you, COAS sahib?” he said, questioning why no one had taken the issue of Mohajirs being killed on the basis of their ethnicity seriously.

The MQM chief also referred to the ongoing operation in Karachi by the Rangers and police. “Truckloads of Mohajirs were taken away from Baldia Town, Liaquatabad and Yousaf Plaza (in the Federal B area). We did not protest.”

He made it clear that if anyone belonging to the MQM was found guilty of being involved in violence in Karachi, they expected law enforcement agencies to deal with them.

Hussain spoke out against Lyari’s Peoples Amn Committee, alleging that its members had terrorised Lyari’s residents and were involved in the brutal torture and killings of Mohajirs. “We are not against the people of Lyari. Water supply came to Lyari because of the MQM, not the Pakistan Peoples Party.” Videos showing alleged violence by militants in Lyari were screened for the media before Hussain’s address began.

(Read: Political dance of death)

Much of his criticism was directed towards Nawaz Sharif, the head of his own faction of the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N). Hussain questioned why, as a signatory to the Charter of Democracy (CoD), Sharif had supported and campaigned for the restoration of the CJP when it contravened the CoD. He also questioned the leadership of the Awami National Party (ANP), who he said was misleading Pathans in Peshawar and Karachi. He also claimed that the US had paid ANP leader Asfandyar Wali Khan millions of dollars to win the last general elections.

He answered, in a veiled way, the allegation that the MQM was involved in violence targeting Pathans. “Why would I be an enemy of Pathans that I have never met, heard or seen?”

He also made a veiled reference to human rights organisation leaders who had “crushed human rights”.

Hussain said he believed his life was under threat. “I will speak freely today because I do not know if I will be alive tomorrow to say this.”

The MQM leader answered the accusations made against the party for its alleged role in the May 12, 2007 violence, and directly addressing the CJP, implored that the MQM’s rally that day was neither in favour, nor against him.

He alleged that the violence was carried out by the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) who worked with the MQM’s Haqiqi faction. He also described the ‘Thunder Squad’, an alleged wing of the JI that was involved in violence.

When asked if he would accept the verdict in the suo motu case that is being heard by the Supreme Court of Pakistan, Hussain said that they would have to wait and see.

Hussain believes Pakistan is being conspired against by foreign forces who are working with Pakistanis. While he declined to name any of the countries, a sheaf of papers explained his beliefs – which included articles on various future scenarios about Pakistan and a map of the ‘new Middle East and Pakistan’, which has circulated among conspiracy theorists for the past decade. He said that he and the MQM were ‘standing in the way’ of this conspiracy to break up Pakistan, and that powerful forces were behind this push.

He also said he may not have evidence for many of his claims, but would be willing to apologise were he proved wrong. “I do not lie.”

Altaf Hussain also spoke about the investigation into the murder of Dr Imran Farooq. “We are constantly in touch with the local police and investigation team. Whenever we get information we convey this to them, whatever we can share. The Scotland Yard is a very experienced and good agency.”

Hussain also declined to name a successor to his party’s leadership.

He remained diplomatic in questions about President Zardari. In response to a question by The Express Tribune about the MQM’s demands of the PPP that would need to be met for it to rejoin the government, Hussain said that the party wants the PPP to take action against those who are torturing and terrorising innocent citizens. He also said that he had spoken to the president to ask about why the Federal Investigation Agency were reporting on the MQM to UK’s agencies, and that the president had investigated and reported that this was not happening.

He also hit out at clerics who misled people, saying that they did not explain religion properly to people. His address opened with a declaration – “The history of Pakistan that has been taught to you is lies, deceit and deception.” Recalling the August 11, 1947 address to the Constituent Assembly, the MQM chief said the secular and liberal-leaning Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s words had been distorted. While explaining religious contexts, he said, “I did not care about fatwas yesterday, and I will not care about them today.”

Hussain also spoke out against high profile anchorpersons, who he said are set on ensuring that ‘one party will not be allowed to operate in Karachi’, while expressing his admiration for reporters and camerapersons who risk their lives to report.

(Read: Who will rescue Karachi?)

Hussain, speaking via a Skype connection, talked for a few hours before the floor opened up for questions.

The Khursheed Begum Secretariat hall was bursting at the seams, as reporters, camerapersons and MQM leaders, including Dr Farooq Sattar, Haider Abbas Rizvi, Waseem Akhtar, Faisal Sabzwari, Nasreen Jalil, Mustafa Kamal and Wasay Jalil jostled for space to listen to Hussain. Even though he has not directly addressed reporters in years, Hussain was in a jovial mood and made several jokes and bantered with reporters.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, September 10th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Investigators stumble on Hakim Said murder clues</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/244548/investigators-stumble-on-hakim-said-murder-clues</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/244548/investigators-stumble-on-hakim-said-murder-clues#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 04 Sep 11 05:00:43 +0500</pubDate>
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				<![CDATA[express]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
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				<![CDATA[UK police ‘discover’ letter from Imran Farooq’s house.]]>
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				<![CDATA[A letter likely to point to the murderers of former Sindh governor Hakim Said has been allegedly recovered by Scotland Yard from the house of slain Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader Dr Imran Farooq.


Earlier, several MQM workers, allegedly involved in Said’s murder on October 17, 1998, were arrested and subsequently sentenced to death by an anti-terrorism court. However, on May 31, 2001, the Sindh High Court acquitted all the accused in the case.

The letter, said to have been written to Dr Farooq by one Javed Turk, is part of a number of documents impounded from the MQM leader’s house as part of the ongoing investigations into his murder.

The investigating agency is translating the letter from Urdu to English for possible clues, sources said.

Said, who established Hamdard Foundation in 1948, was a well known scholar and philanthropist.

Farooq Murder probe

Translated documents, recovered from Farooq’s house, are helping Scotland Yard zero-in on possible suspects in Farooq’s murder case, sources said.

Scotland Yard has recently questioned on caution one person and also carried out house and office raids in the UK in connection with Dr Farooq’s murder. The person questioned on caution is believed to have links with an important Pakistan-based political party.

Knowledgeable sources have claimed that the MQM UK chapter has taken strong exception to the direction the murder case probe has taken and has even reportedly protested to the UK government.

Last month in one of his telephonic speeches from London, MQM chief Altaf Hussain had alleged that Pakistan’s civilian agencies – the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) – had provided ‘misleading information’ to Scotland Yard. Hussain implied that the information sent by the agencies had attempted to implicate the MQM in Dr Farooq’s murder.

However, both Pakistan’s Foreign Office (FO) and the High Commission in the UK have denied knowledge of any such communication between IB and FIA and the Scotland Yard. According to them, as per rules, all communication has to pass through the FO and Pakistan’s High Commission.

Scotland Yard is said to be treating the case of Dr Farooq’s murder with high priority and are trying their level best to apprehend the killers before September 16. Circumstantial evidence indicates that the suspected murderers have left the UK for, most probably, Colombo.

Three suspects arrested from Karachi Airport

According to sources, a non-civilian Pakistani intelligence agency had detained three suspects some months ago from Karachi in connected with Dr Farooq’s murder. They were handed over to the law-enforcement agencies (LEAs) last month, sources familiar with the matter revealed.

They said that contrary to media reports, the suspects – Khalid Shamim and two young boys – were not taken into custody on a tip from Scotland Yard.

Their purported arrest from the Karachi airport on a tip from Scotland Yard was allegedly leaked to the media by Interior Minister Rehman Malik. However, the British police were reportedly surprised themselves, when the news of the arrest and Scotland Yard’s ‘tip-off’ broke.

Furthermore, the Personal Identification Secure Comparison and Evaluation System (PISCES) installed at the Karachi airport did not support the arrest of Shamim and his accomplices.

The plot

Sources further revealed that Shamim was given the task of killing Dr Farooq in London. He sought help from a man named Hammad Siddiqi, who provided him with two boys as his accomplices. Shamim is said to have arranged student visas for the boys.

Upon their arrival in London, sources added, the boys were briefed about Dr Farooq’s routine by an unidentified man. Dr Farooq was murdered by the boys close to his house, sources said. Sources added that following the murder, the boys left for Colombo instead of coming back to Pakistan to mislead investigators.

After reaching Colombo, they allegedly contacted Shamim, who ordered them to come back to Pakistan. A non-civilian secret agency recorded all the conversations between Shamim and the boys. According to sources, Shamim had planned to murder the boys upon their arrival in Karachi.

Confession

The agencies detained the boys when they reached Karachi from Colombo and were made to listen to all the recordings of their conversations. According to sources, after listening to the recordings, they themselves confessed to the murder in the presence of the non-civilian intelligence agency personnel. Although Shamim presented the facts in a different context, statements of all three of the accused proved comparable at the end, sources familiar with the matter further revealed.

After thorough interrogation and extracting complete information, the inquiring agency’s provincial (Sindh) chapter sent a detailed report to its headquarters. After getting approval, the culprits were handed over to the LEAs last month for registration of criminal cases and prosecution.

Meanwhile, increased visits and meetings of UK officials, particularly intelligence liaison officers, police liaison officers, as well as undercover officials of UK intelligence agencies have been observed by the FIA headquarters in Islamabad during August.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, September 4th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Dr Imran Farooq murder: Stop spreading untrue reports, MQM tells media</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/241027/dr-imran-farooq-murder-stop-spreading-untrue-reports-mqm-tells-media</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/241027/dr-imran-farooq-murder-stop-spreading-untrue-reports-mqm-tells-media#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 28 Aug 11 05:01:02 +0500</pubDate>
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				<![CDATA[express]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
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				<![CDATA[Rehman Malik insists no one was arrested from any airport for the killing.]]>
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				<![CDATA[The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) tersely urged the media to refrain from spreading “unfounded speculations” about arrests made in Dr Imran Farooq’s murder case.


A statement issued by MQM’s coordination committee said that news reports on two people being arrested at the Karachi airport were “devoid of truth, baseless and concocted.”

The committee said that the purpose behind these “fabricated and malicious” reports was nothing but to “tarnish the image of the MQM and damage its reputation.”

Members of the coordination committee said that MQM was “consulting its legal advisers for (taking) legal action in this regard.”

They said that the case was being investigated by “the (New) Scotland Yard, and the media should desist from spreading false and unfounded speculations.”

In Karachi, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said that law enforcement agencies had not arrested any man named ‘Waseem’ from Karachi airport in the Dr Imran Farooq murder case and no agency had sent any report to the British authorities regarding any Pakistani political party.

Rebuffing all media reports in this regard, Malik said this was “all being done to drive a wedge between the PPP and the MQM.”

Malik told reporters that reports regarding arrest of two MQM workers from an airport “are baseless and no information was provided by Scotland Yard or other British agency (in this regard).”  He said that the government of Pakistan had not sent any report against the MQM to the British authorities.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 28th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Taken: Three booked for abducting woman</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/220419/taken-three-booked-for-abducting-woman</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/220419/taken-three-booked-for-abducting-woman#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 30 Jul 11 01:50:21 +0500</pubDate>
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				<![CDATA[express]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
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				<![CDATA[The police registered an abduction case against the suspected men and started searching for woman.]]>
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				<![CDATA[Three persons were booked for abducting a woman in the Aabpara area on Friday. Hafiz Islam* lodged a report with the police that Malik* and his accomplices abducted his wife Samina*. The police registered an abduction case against the suspected men and started searching for woman. In another incident, Imran Farooq lodged a report with the police that thieves had entered into his house in G-7/4 and made away with cash, a computer and two cell phones worth Rs50,000.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 30th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>WikiLeaks Guantanamo files: Pakistan worked hard for businessman’s release</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/162999/wikileaks-guantanamo-files-pakistan-worked-hard-for-businessman%e2%80%99s-release</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/162999/wikileaks-guantanamo-files-pakistan-worked-hard-for-businessman%e2%80%99s-release#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 06 May 11 04:39:45 +0500</pubDate>
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				<![CDATA[express]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
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				<![CDATA[Paracha is alleged of having offered his media network for al Qaeda propaganda.]]>
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				<![CDATA[Pakistani officials tried hard to secure a Pakistani businessman’s release from Guantanamo Bay but told the US that if he were given in Pakistan’s custody, he might have to be released from jail in three months, according to documents released by WikiLeaks which were printed by Indian newspaper The Hindu.


Saifullah Paracha, 64, remains in prison and is possibly Guantanamo’s oldest inmate. He is among the last six Pakistani prisoners that US authorities considered unfit for release and repatriation.

The US accuses Paracha of having direct links to Osama bin Laden, plotting to acquire chemical and other weapons for al Qaeda and offering his media network, Universal Broadcasting Limited, for al Qaeda propaganda.

A US embassy cable from Islamabad, dated August 30, 2006, details that a delegation of Pakistani officials who visited Guantánamo returned with the impression that most detainees “are individuals who were ‘in the wrong place at the wrong time’, not extremists who pose a serious threat.”

The cable shows how Pakistani officials differed from the US in their assessment of al Qaeda suspects. It also shows domestic pressure on the Pakistani government as public resentment soared over the manner in which the US had detained these suspects.

The cable is a report of the delegation’s visit as told to the political counsellor at the US embassy in Islamabad by Lt-Col Imran Yaqoob — wrongly mentioned in the cable as Imran Farooq — Director of Operations at the National Crisis Management Cell in the interior ministry, who was part of the delegation.

According to the cable, the Pakistani delegation “left with the impression that no major obstacles remain to repatriation of the six Pakistani detainees provided that the Pakistani government makes arrangements to keep him in detention in Pakistan.”

The Karachi businessman was arrested in Bangkok on July 8, 2003, and transferred to Cuba on September 19, 2004. His son Uzair Paracha was arrested in 2003 in the US and charged with providing material assistance to al Qaeda. He was convicted by a US court in 2006.

US officials in Guantánamo assured the delegation that if the Pakistan government submitted a formal repatriation request, it would be considered. Yaqoob told the US embassy official that he had already written to the foreign ministry in support of sending such a request. In addition to the six detainees, Pakistan also wanted the repatriation of 20 more of its nationals being held in Afghanistan.

But Yaqoob “warned that for the Pakistani government to keep Paracha in custody, it would need information/evidence from the US government to justify his continued detention, noting that Paracha’s family has challenged his detention in the Supreme Court. Without some evidence to support a longer detention, Yaqoob said, Pakistani law would only permit his detention for three months”.

In parenthesis, the cable, sent under the signature of Charge d’Affaires Peter W Bodde noted that the embassy “will pursue the question of the Pakistani government’s ability to hold detainees in custody with the foreign ministry and other interlocutors.”

Quite contrary to the Pakistani official’s impression that Paracha would be released soon, Guantánamo files released last month show that he was assessed as a “high risk” detainee who “would probably seek out prior associates and reengage in extremist activities at home and abroad.”

The December 1, 2008, assessment recommended his “continued detention under the department of defence control.”

In what the file describes as “custodial interviews” rather than interrogations, Paracha is said to have confessed to meeting Bin Laden twice, offering him the use of his television station.

Paracha is alleged to have had close links with alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his nephew Ammar alBaluchi. The file says Bin Laden sent Mohammed to find out more about Paracha’s company. Over the next several months, Mohammed allegedly met Paracha five times. The file alleges that alBaluchi used Paracha’s media facilities to make a film of an al Qaeda fighter discussing his experience at Tora Bora, which was passed on to Al Jazeera news channel.

Paracha is alleged to have plotted to smuggle chemical, biological and radioactive materials into the US for attacks.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 6th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>The year in news</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/147539/the-year-in-news</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/147539/the-year-in-news#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 11 Apr 11 17:41:55 +0500</pubDate>
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				<![CDATA[The Express Tribune captures Pakistan from militancy to WikiLeaks, the Karachi Literature Festival to the floods...]]>
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				<![CDATA[Militancy

A total of 2,113 militant-, insurgent- and sectarian-related terrorist attacks were reported from across the country in 2010, killing 2,913 people and injuring another 5,824 according to a report by the Pak Institute for Peace Studies. In 2010, Pakistan also witnessed an 11 per cent decrease in the number of incidents of violence and terrorism compared to the previous year, the first time that has happened since 2007, adds the report. The worst-affected region of the country was the insurgency-hit province of Balochistan, followed by the militancy-infested Federally Administered Tribal Areas.

Economy

The floundering economy faced a serious setback due to the devastating floods and the ongoing war against militancy while mounting debt and rising fiscal deficit set the stage for persistently high inflation throughout the previous year. The government’s repeated attempts to implement the reformed general sales tax and broaden the tax net were met with the Opposition’s continued demands to curb corruption and reform governance. The stalemate continues…

International

For all the hullaballoo created at the release of a quarter of a million diplomatic cables, Wikileaks had little impact on international relations, but majorly propelled Julian Assange as the face of the new Left. The ongoing NATO-led war in neighbouring Afghanistan kept Pakistan in the global media limelight, for all the unflattering reasons. Meanwhile, popular riots broke out in the Middle East and North Africa, initially against rising inflation and unemployment, but evolving into revolutions calling for regime changes. President Ben Ali of Tunisia was the first casualty of the revolution followed by Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak. Libya’s Qaddafi and Yemen’s Ali Abdullah Saleh are among other autocrats and monarchs of the region that continue to fight for survival.

Culture

Literature, film and art festivals enthralled culturally starved audiences and made for great photo-ops. The second Karachi Literature Festival that brought together the literati and the glitterati was extensively covered by The Express Tribune. The Aalmi Mushaira 2011 kept Urdu poets and their fans at the Expo Centre up till four in the morning, despite violence in the city, to prove that “the pen is mightier than the TT pistol”.

Floods

Beginning in late July 2010, heavy monsoon rains in Khyber- Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan led to floods that dragged one-fifth of Pakistan’s total land area underwater, affecting 20 million people directly and leading to extensive damage to infrastructure and crops. UN Secretary- General Ban Ki-moon called it the worst disaster he had ever seen. The total economic impact of the flood is estimated to have come to the tune of $40 billion, while reconstruction is estimated to cost about $9 billion. The floods also brought to light Pakistan’s image deficit as international aid trickled in too little, too late

Politics

As allies walked in and out of the coalition, the government’s waltz made headlines as it tried to court new partners and woo the old ones back. The passage of the 18th and 19th Amendments was heralded as steps taken by parliament to strengthen itself as an institution. Friction with other growing institutions like the judiciary and civil society was inevitable, but major showdowns were avoided. Assassinations Salmaan Taseer and Shahbaz Bhatti, both belonging to the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party, became high-profile victims of the furor over the controversial blasphemy laws that continue to polarise public opinion across the country.

Taseer’s killer, Qadri, was equally heralded as a hero and denounced for the cold-blooded murder. Meanwhile, MQM’s Imran Farooq’s murder in London baffled audiences at home and triggered a host of conspiracy theories surrounding the murder.

Plane crash

An Airblue flight flying from Karachi to Islamabad crashed into the Margalla Hills on the morning of July 28, 2010, killing all 152 passengers on board in the worst aviation disaster on Pakistani soil. A report of the accident has yet to be made public.

Earthquake

October 8, 2010 marked the fifth anniversary of the 7.6 magnitude earthquake in Kashmir and Northern Areas that killed 75,000 people, including 18,000 children who died in schools. Five years and $5.4 billion worth of pledges from international donors later, most of the promised reconstruction and rehabilitation has yet to see the light of the day. The Express Tribune brought together stories of unfinished projects and unfulfilled official promises to mark the anniversary.

Sports

Where Shoaib Akhtar, the formidable ‘Rawalpindi Express’, left national duty and stepped down, there was more to lament about this year’s sports news. We lost three other cricketers, and not to retirement or injury. The spot-fixing scandal scarred the Pakistan team with injuries that will remain alive for a long time to come.

But Shahid Afridi’s squad that marched tall into the cricket World Cup was a bright start to the year. And while the deadliest finishers looked for glory in football’s most prestigious tournament – Spain finished off with precision to flaunt in golden glory – it was Rafael Nadal who broke headlines by claiming his first ever US Open crown which had eluded him aplenty.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 12th,  2011.]]>
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			<title>Imran Farooq ‘followed’ in Britain before murder</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/133367/dr-imran-farooq-followed-in-britain-before-murder</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/133367/dr-imran-farooq-followed-in-britain-before-murder#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 17 Mar 11 04:03:28 +0500</pubDate>
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				<![CDATA[British police release CCTV images of him in the morning.]]>
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				<![CDATA[British police on Wednesday released new images of Imran Farooq just before he was stabbed to death in London, and said he may have been followed before the attack.


Farooq, 50, a founding member of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), died from stab wounds and head injuries after attackers pounced on him as he returned from work on September 16.

Detectives revealed that he was killed with two kitchen knives sold in discount stores and online and a house brick may also have been used in the attack.

CCTV footage of his final hours, released by police, includes images of him at an underground train station as he travelled to work on the morning of his death.

Police believe the attack may have been carried out by up to four Asian men who had been in vehicles or on foot near Farooq’s home in north London at various times of the day.

Police also want to trace the rider of a dark-coloured moped or scooter seen near the politician’s home.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: “We retain an open mind as to a motive.”

Published in The Express Tribune, March 17th, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Time-line: Politicians under attack in Pakistan</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/126362/time-line-politicians-under-attack-in-pakistan</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/126362/time-line-politicians-under-attack-in-pakistan#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 02 Mar 11 15:05:36 +0500</pubDate>
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				<![CDATA[A short time-line of attacks on prominent Pakistani politicians in recent years.]]>
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				<![CDATA[A short time-line of attacks on prominent Pakistani politicians in recent years:

Wednesday March 2, 2011: Minister for Minorities Shahbaz Bhatti is shot dead in his car in Islamabad. A Roman Catholic, Bhatti had opposed Pakistan's controversial blasphemy law.

January 4, 2011: Salman Taseer, governor of Punjab Province, is assassinated by one of his guards in Islamabad. A member of the Pakistan People's Party of President Asif Ali Zardari, Taseer had also fought the blasphemy law.

September 16, 2010: Imran Farooq, a founding member of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), one of Pakistan's largest political parties, is murdered in London, where he lived in exile.

August 2, 2010: Raza Haider, a provincial legislator for the MQM in Sindh, where his party is part of the ruling coalition, is shot dead in Karachi, sparking riots that kill more than 40 people.

July 24, 2010: The son of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain was killed by unidentified gunmen near Nowshera. He was the only son of Mian Iftikhar Hussain.

 

July 14, 2010: Habib Jalib, a top leader of the Balochistan National Party (BNP-Mengal) and former senator, was shot dead as he sat outside his brother's shop reading a newspaper. The leader was popular in the province and was a significant voice speaking in support of greater autonomy for the province.

October 6, 2008: A suicide bomber kills 18 people and wounds Pakistani politician Rashid Akbar Nowani, a minority Shiite MP from the main opposition party in the town of Bhakkar in Punjab province.

October 2, 2008: A suicide bomber blows himself up at the house of Asfandyar Wali Khan, head of the Awami National Party in Pakistan's ruling coalition, killing four people but missing the politician.

December 27, 2007: Former prime minister Benazir Bhutto is killed in a shooting and suicide bombing, along with nearly two dozen of her supporters, as she leaves a campaign rally in Rawalpindi, near Islamabad.

Two months earlier another bomb aimed at killing Bhutto had left 139 people dead among her supporters.]]>
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			<title>Assassinations in Pakistan: Politicians under attack</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/99378/assassinations-in-pakistan-politicians-under-attack</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/99378/assassinations-in-pakistan-politicians-under-attack#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 05 Jan 11 07:37:33 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[afp]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=99378</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Timeline of political assassinations in the country.]]>
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				<![CDATA[The assassination of the governor of Pakistan's most politically important province Punjab, Salman Taseer, is the latest killing of a politician from the country in recent years. 

- October 18, 2007: A suicide attack and another smaller blast targeting former premier Benazir Bhutto kill 139 people in Karachi, as she returned to Pakistan for the first time in eight years.

- December 27, 2007: Bhutto is killed in a shooting and suicide bombing, along with nearly two dozen of her supporters, as she leaves a campaign rally in Rawalpindi, near Islamabad.

- October 2, 2008: A suicide bomber blows himself up at the house of Asfandyar Wali Khan, head of the Awami National Party in Pakistan's ruling coalition, killing four people but missing the politician.

- October 6, 2008: A suicide bomber kills 18 people and wounds Pakistani politician Rashid Akbar Nowani, a minority Shiite MP from the main opposition party in the town of Bhakkar in Punjab province.

- August 2, 2010: Raza Haider, a provincial legislator for the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) in Sindh, where his party is part of the ruling coalition, is shot dead in Karachi, sparking riots that kill more than 40 people.

- September 16, 2010: Imran Farooq, a founding member of MQM, is murdered in London, where he lived in exile.

- January 4, 2011: Taseer is assassinated by one of his guards in Islamabad. He was one of the most moderate political voices in the main ruling Pakistan People's Party of President Asif Ali Zardari.]]>
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			<title>The political 10 of 2010</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/97612/the-political-10-of-2010</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/97612/the-political-10-of-2010#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 01 Jan 11 04:53:14 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[zainab.imam]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=97612</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The Express Tribune takes a look at the ten most important political developments of the year.]]>
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			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[As the year draws to a close, The Express Tribune takes a look at the ten most important political developments of the year. As the effects of these developments spill over to the next year, one hopes for more stability in 2011.

Fake Degrees Saga

In March, it turned out that PPP’s Jamshed Dasti had submitted fake academic degrees to contest the 2008 elections. The Supreme Court directed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to arrange by-elections for his seat and two others (one in NA and one in the Punjab Assembly). The degrees of all parliamentarians and provincial ministers, including the prime minister, were then reviewed by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) and declared fake or genuine. So far, 603 degrees of parliamentarians have been declared genuine, while 59 have been declared bogus. Early in December, the ECP launched criminal proceedings against those found holding fake degrees.

MQM  ANP ROW over killing

After a spurt of violence across Karachi in July, the MQM and ANP blamed each other for the drive-by shootings that claimed at least 30 lives in five days. MQM’s Dr Farooq Sattar categorically blamed the ANP for the killing of a party worker. ANP responded in by calling the MQM a terrorist organisation. Interior Minister Rehman Malik flew to Karachi from Islamabad to calm tempers and keep the coalition intact. As he tried to mend the breach, Sindh Home Minister Zulfiqar Mirza uttered his famous line: “Aik dulhan shadi kay liye tayyar hai, doosri kay paas ja raha hoon”.

State minister fired for badmouthing the Army and judiciary

Abdul Qayyum Khan Jatoi, the state minister for defence production, resigned from the cabinet on Prime Minister Gilani’s insistence in September after he gave a controversial statement that put the PPP government in an awkward position. Jatoi had said that the army is not meant to kill innocent citizens and alleged that Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry belonged to Faisalabad but used a domicile of Balochistan to become a judge. Jatoi had told Gilani that he had made the remarks in his personal capacity. Unsatisfied with this explanation, the prime minister asked him to resign.

Musharraf announces comeback

Former president General (retd) Pervez Musharraf launched his All Pakistan Muslim League (APML). He unveiled the new political party and its manifesto at a gentlemen’s club in Whitehall Palace, England. Tight security arrangements were made with all those entering the room being thoroughly checked and attendants included a number of politicians who were in his government. Musharraf apologised to the nation for what he called his mistakes, including the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO), which struck down corruption cases against thousands: “I am aware of the fact there were some decisions which resulted in negative political repercussions and had adverse effects on nation-building.”

JUI-F quits the coalition

Prime Minister Gilani’s decision to sack Swati, however, opened a Pandora’s Box as Swati’s party – the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) – reacted by deciding to quit the ruling coalition. The party has seven seats in the National Assembly and over a dozen members in the Senate. With support from the JUI-F, the PPP has a simple majority in the Senate and losing that support could weaken its position regarding the passage of legislation in the National Assembly. The JUI-F also submitted the resignations of two more cabinet members to the prime minister: Housing Minister Rehmatullah Kakar and Tourism Minister Maulana Attaur Rehman.

18th, Amendment to the constitution

President Zardari became the first president to forgo his executive powers as he signed the 18th Constitutional Amendment bill into law in April. The amendment removes the power of the president of Pakistan to unilaterally dissolve parliament and renamed the province of North-West Frontier Province as “Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa”. Some 292 of 342 members of the National Assembly voted in favour of the amendment, a draft of which was presented after months of deliberation by the Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional Reforms (PCCR), headed by PPP’s Senator Raza Rabbani. However, contention over appointment of judges led to the passage of the 19th Amendment later this year.

MQM MPA Raza Haider’s assassination and the ensuing violence

MQM MPA Raza Haider was shot dead, along with his bodyguard, in a mosque in Nazimabad, Karachi on August 2, 2010. Haider had reportedly gone there to attend a funeral when unidentified men opened fire at him. Within 24 hours of Haider’s death, as many as 47 people were killed and over 100 injured in Karachi, while the city police released sketches of two men suspected of involvement in the assassination. Interior Minister Rehman Malik told members of the Senate, which convened a day after Haider was killed, that the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi was involved in his murder.

MQM convenor Imran Farooq’s murder

Senior leader of the Muttahida Qaumi (MQM) Movement, and Convener of the party’s Rabita Committee, Dr Imran Farooq was murdered in a knife attack in the Edgware district of London late at night on September 16, 2010. Reports suggested that he was taken to hospital in injured condition where doctors confirmed his death and surmised that the incident could have been an attempted mugging. In Karachi, the MQM announced a 10-day mourning as the city erupted into rioting. Farooq’s body was brought to Pakistan in November to be buried in the Yaseenabad graveyard in Karachi, while the Scotland Yard opened investigations.

Federal Minister sacked for Hajj scam sparring

Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani sacked science and technology minister Azam Khan Swati and religious affairs minister Hamid Saeed Kazmi in December, following a row over a corruption scam in Hajj arrangements. Swati, who belongs to the JUI-F, accused PPP’s Kazmi of corruption and asked Gilani to sack him. Kazmi refuted the claim that he was involved but admitted that corruption had, indeed, taken place. He also sent a defamation notice to Swati. As the ministers continued to exchange barbs, Gilani first tried to gag the ministers but as the situation unravelled, he had to fire them both.

MQM quits cabinet

Sindh Youth Affairs Minister Faisal Sabzwari announced that his party MQM is quitting the federal cabinet but not the treasury benches, a day after party chief Altaf Hussain, in a telephonic address to a party convention at Bhit Shah in Sindh, asked the people if they wanted MQM to sever ties with the government. A delegation of the party, irked by Sindh Home Minister Zulfiqar Mirza’s tirade, met the president in Islamabad on December 27 to announce the party’s decision. Altaf Hussain said that the MQM was quitting the cabinet, not the government “for the sake of democracy”.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 1st, 2011.]]>
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			<title>Reply: MQM responds to allegations</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/95373/reply-mqm-responds-to-allegations</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/95373/reply-mqm-responds-to-allegations#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 27 Dec 10 05:01:16 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[express]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=95373</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Hyder Abbas Rizvi says the people who are criticising MQM had started their political careers with a dictator.]]>
			</description>
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				<![CDATA[Reacting to the statement of Nawaz Sharif, Hyder Abbas Rizvi, of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) said that the people who are criticising MQM had started their political careers with a military dictator. Now they are trying to become champions of democracy. 

He said that MQM is also a victim of  the May 12 incident. “If we were involved in the May 12 incident then who killed our workers,” he questioned. Setting aside allegations of Nawaz Sharif he said that not a single person was killed in Karachi after the murder of Dr Imran Farooq. “Punjab has now become a police state, so Nawaz Sharif should look at this and bring peace in the province,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 27th, 2010.]]>
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			<title>Sindh’s home minister blows up at city’s big money</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/89722/sindh%e2%80%99s-home-minister-blows-up-at-city%e2%80%99s-big-money</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/89722/sindh%e2%80%99s-home-minister-blows-up-at-city%e2%80%99s-big-money#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 14 Dec 10 03:39:32 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Hafeez Tunio]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=89722</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Business community is giving large amounts of Zakat and extortion money to militant organisations, said Mirza.]]>
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				<![CDATA[A visibly exasperated Sindh home minister let it all hang out on Monday in a stressful meeting with top business leaders, sparking a fresh war of words on organised violence in Karachi.

The meeting held at the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry started off with businessmen lambasting Zulfiqar Mirza and the chief of police Fayyaz Leghari over a lack of protection. As their complaints rolled off, Mirza kept muttering, “Mein is ka abhi jawab deta hoon.” [I’ll just give you an answer to that].

By the time his turn to speak came around, it was obvious that he was chafing at the bit. And what issued forth was nothing short of incendiary:

The business community of Karachi is giving large amounts of Zakat and extortion money to militant organisations who are involved in terrorist activities in the country.

The suspects involved in target killings belong to a big political party of the city. The police have arrested 60 target killers from different towns of the city and out of them, a majority belong to a party which owns the city. The others are affiliated with the Awami National Party, Mohajir Qaumi Movement and Sunni Tehreek.

“Muttahida Qaumi Movement leader Imran Farooq was killed in London but markets remained shut in Karachi,” lashed out Mirza. “Innocent Pakhtun, Baloch, Punjabi and Sindhi people fall prey to target killings. Asfandyar Wali Khan did not kill Imran Farooq, then why were Pakhtun men killed after his assassination?” For a political landscape where such questions are never uttered in the public arena, Mirza’s words came as a shock.

The Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s central decision-making body immediately sat down in London and Karachi in reaction.

This was not the first time this coaliton partner had taken note of Mirza’s stance. A speech delivered on the Sindh Assembly floor had precipitated an outcry. From then on, the Pakistan Peoples Party had to dispatch federal home minister Rehman Malik to discuss target killings in Karachi.

“The situation in Karachi will worsen and a large number of Urdu-speaking people will lose their lives if these ethnic groups come forward and make an alliance,” said Mirza, further adding fuel to the fire.

As the Sindh home minister, he said he owns up to his mistakes and takes responsibility for the deteriorating law and order in the city, but political parties whose workers are involved in ‘bhatta culture’ or extortion and target killings should come forward and own up as well.

Mirza, who was continuously whispering with chief of police Fayyaz Leghari during the meeting, said that everyone was making it out that the Shershah attack was important, but why had people forgotten the target killing of 50 innocent people who lost their lives just two days before it? “It could be called a reaction to the spate of target killings,” said Mirza. “During a meeting at Governor House, I had requested the participants to please be kindhearted to the people of Karachi.”

He said that those people who felt that they could have the Pakistan Peoples Party-led government dismissed by sparking violence in Karachi were living in a “dream world”. “We will complete our five-year tenure,” he insisted.

The home minister went on to blame the city’s businessmen for the weakening law and order conditions. “You people have formed associations and supported criminals in an organised way by donating cash and the hides of sacrificial animals in addition to extortion money.”

Whenever he tried to maintain law and order by initiating deweaponisation, hurdles were created and people start blaming him, he said. “Sometimes, they call me the supervisor of the Peoples Aman Committee and the patron of the Lyari gang war,” he said.

“If I were involved in these activities, then why would I have paid Rs5 million in ransom for the release of one of the biggest businessmen in the city and a renowned filmmaker who was kidnapped by militants?”

The minister said that after the target killings, he could have easily claimed that there was a “foreign hand” behind them. “But I cannot look away, like the others.”

Because of the floods, the Sindh government did not have the resources to invest in the police department. “Why do you people not help the police who are the good boys, not the bad boys,” he asked his stunned audience.

Earlier on, KCCI president Saeed Shafi had pointed out that the worsening law and order situation in the city has created fear among businessmen and the Kohinoor mobile market robbery this week had worsened it. Siraj Qasim Teli, the chairman of the BMG Group and a former president of the KCCI, said that the business community was being targeted. Members of the Lyari gang war and the Peoples Aman Committee issue them receipts for extortion.

They have informed the CCPO and other cabinet members of the Sindh government about the menace, but no action has been taken against the real culprits so far.

“We cannot understand why, despite there being a coalition government of major political parties, the law and order situation cannot be improved in a mega city which produces large revenues [for the country],” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 14th, 2010.]]>
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			<title>Dr Farooq’s murder: London court grants bail to suspect</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/88757/dr-farooq%e2%80%99s-murder-london-court-grants-bail-to-suspect</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/88757/dr-farooq%e2%80%99s-murder-london-court-grants-bail-to-suspect#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 11 Dec 10 06:22:41 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[afp]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=88757</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Suspect freed on bail on Friday after being arrested on Thursday.]]>
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				<![CDATA[A 34-year-old man arrested on suspicion of murdering Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Convener Imran Farooq in London was freed on bail on Friday.

The suspect had been arrested on Thursday at a residential address in Camden, north London, and taken to a nearby police station for questioning.

Dr Farooq was on his way back from work on September 16 when he was ambushed. He was found with head injuries and stab wounds outside his London home and pronounced dead at the scene. Detectives recovered a kitchen knife and a brick used in the attack. More than 200,000 mourners packed the streets of Karachi for his burial on November 6.

The 34-year-old suspect was “bailed to return to a north London police station in January 2011”, Scotland Yard police headquarters said in a statement. Detectives from Scotland Yard’s counter-terrorism command have taken charge of the murder inquiry.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 11th, 2010.]]>
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			<title>Imran Farooq’s murder suspect arrested</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/87970/imran-farooq-murder-case-scotland-yard-arrests-suspect</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/87970/imran-farooq-murder-case-scotland-yard-arrests-suspect#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 10 Dec 10 04:19:58 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[express]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=87970</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Detectives believe other people hold clues and urge them to come forward.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[The London police arrested a 34-year-old man on suspicion of the murder of Dr Imran Farooq, said a press release posted on the Metropolitan Police website on Thursday.

The man was also arrested on suspicion of robbery in October 2009 at a residential address in Camden. He has been taken to a north London police station where he will be interviewed by detectives.

Detectives believe that there are other people who may hold vital information about the attack and thus continue to urge to come forward. They are still trying to trace two men who are wanted in connection with the incident.

Officers previously issued an e-fit of one of the men. The man is of Asian appearance, aged to be in his late 20s or early 30s, with a height of around 5 feet 5inches. He is believed to be of a slim build, with piercing eyes, a pointed, pale-skinned face, short black/dark coloured hair, and a goatee-style beard. He was wearing a dark coloured baseball-style cap.

The second man is also Asian. He is aged to be in his 30s, with a stocky build and a height of around 5 feet 10 inches, with short black hair.

Farooq, aged 50, was on his way home from work when he was attacked in Green Lane, on Thursday, September 16.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 10th, 2010.]]>
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			<title>Amir Zaki revives ‘Come Alive’ concert</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/75372/amir-zaki-revives-%e2%80%98come-alive%e2%80%99-concert</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/75372/amir-zaki-revives-%e2%80%98come-alive%e2%80%99-concert#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 11 Nov 10 04:11:48 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[ali.syed]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=75372</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Stagewright productions,United Pakistan hosted a concert as a launch for the former, to raise funds for flood relief.]]>
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				<![CDATA[Stagewright productions in collaboration with United Pakistan held a concert ‘It’s Time To Come Alive” at the Pakistan American Culture Centre (PACC) as a launch for the former and to raise funds for flood relief on Tuesday.

Before the concert started there was a red carpet so that the bands and musicians could be interviewed and photographed. Naturally, the cameras attracted a crowd, which was surprisingly small given the stellar line-up from Zoe Viccajji to Amir Zaki. For a while, though it seemed as if most of the audience was just the musicians themselves.

Stand-up act Sami Shah was there to open the show with references to soo-soo diapers and downed internet connections that kill ‘extra-curricular’ fun. For him, it was a good opportunity because “comedy can be done anywhere.” Shah had just put on a similar performance at the Sound of Hope concert that took place at the Indus Valley School of Arts and Architecture a few weeks back.

Happily, the concert was held in the open-air courtyard. The mood was fairly subdued in the balmy air as the small audience milled around. The weather was quite pleasant, which made standing quite bearable as there were only 60 chairs to go around.

An additional feature to the event was the upcoming television icon Mathira, who recently hosted the Lux Style Awards. She had set up a stall to sell T-shirts of herself along with signed posters.

It was refreshing that the show started on time even though the venue was not packed at all. In fact, when the music started there were probably only a little over seventy people in the audience. It is worth mentioning, however, that a large part of the reason for the low attendance could be the fact that the event was originally supposed to take place on November 6. However, since that was Saturday, the day for Dr Imran Farooq’s funeral, the city had shut down. There is merit in a small crowd simply because there is room to breathe and there are fewer nasty characters around.

Sami Shah opened the event with his stand-up comedy routine. Even he made joke that there weren’t too many people, saying, “I’m performing to an empty stage.” The usually funny comedian did not receive the response that perhaps he was expecting. This might have been because he was repeating some jokes, or because he resorted to political jokes, which the rock music audience did not seem particularly interested in. In fact, the few claps that Shah did manage to get were heard when he made jokes about Meera and Nirma. But then again, how hard is it to make Meera jokes?

Crowd aside, the organisers had a great line-up. Along with musicians such as Amir Zaki, ADP, Immu and Khalid Khan, there were also performances by bands Gravity and Blue Mango and alumni of the National Academy of Performing Arts (Napa).

The first band to hit the stage was Blue Mango that did a variety of covers of songs from Zombie by the Cranberries to Use Somebody by the Kings of Leon. Their lead vocalist definitely has brass in her voice and she managed the difficult nasally notes in Zombie quite well.

By the time ADP came up, there must have been more than 200 people in the crowd. Their chemistry on stage was evident with their tight yet comfortable performance, which the crowd responded to well. Their song ‘Sultanat’ is a popular one and perhaps because they’ve performed it so many times, they have lost the nervous edge that new bands tend to unknowingly grapple with.

There were some performances by Napa alumni, including Haris Ali Khan and Uzair Shehzad. Khan, who played the sitar, is believed to be teaching the instrument in Malaysia these days after graduating from Napa.

It was when the much-awaited Amir Zaki came on stage that the crowd really got into the groove. The guitar pick-thin Zaki played some of his popular numbers, which haven’t been played for some time, including Keh Do, Jana and Mohhabbat Blues. It was great to hear him perform on Alamgir’s Albela Rahi and Nustrat Fateh Ali Khan’s Kinna Sona as well. The first because it was after a long time since he’s done that number and the second because it was new experience to hear him do an NFAK song.

Zaki was joined by Ehsan Bari on guitar and Hilary Furtado on saxophone.

According to Dr Kholod Shafi, one of the organisers of the event, 50 per cent of the proceeds are going to go to United Pakistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 11th, 2010.]]>
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			<title>Prayers for MQM leader amid tight security</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/73859/prayers-for-mqm-leader-amid-tight-security</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/73859/prayers-for-mqm-leader-amid-tight-security#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Mon, 08 Nov 10 04:12:58 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[express]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=73859</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Thousands of people attended Quran Khwanis across the province.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Businesses remained closed while there was barely any traffic on the streets on Sunday as Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader Dr Imran Farooq’s soyem was observed amid tight security.

Rangers and police personnel were deployed across the city to maintain law and order as people from all parts of the city gathered at Lal Qila Ground, Azizabad and Farooq’s residence in Sharifabad for the Quran Khwani.

Walk-through gates were set up at the Lal Qila Ground, which was surrounded by law enforcers. Police and Rangers were also deployed at Farooq’s residence, where a number of prominent MQM leaders and workers, including Mustafa Kamal, Farooq Sattar, Saif Yar Khan, Dr Sagheer Ahmed, MNAs and MPAs gathered to condole the family. They later visited Farooq’s grave in the Shuhada Qabristan, Yasinabad, to offer Fateha.

Meanwhile, a large number of residents from Hyderabad gathered at the Pucca Qila Ground where a large number of MQM zonal committee members, zonal incharge Muhammad Sharif, along with MPAs and MNAs also attended the Quran Khwani. Businesses and petrol pumps remained closed while law enforcers were deployed across the city.

In Sukkur, MQM organised Quran Khwani at its zonal office at Jinnah Chowk, where members of political, religious and social organisations as well as residents of Sukkur attended Farooq’s soyem. The MQM ladies’ wing also organised a Fateha Khwani.

Thousands of people also attended the Quran Khwanis for the late MQM leader which were organised at the MQM zonal office in Thatta, the Jinnah Hall in Mirpurkhas and the Qila Chowk in Tando Allahyar.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 8th, 2010.]]>
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			<title>Special prayers held for late MQM convener</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/73681/special-prayers-held-for-late-mqm-convener</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/73681/special-prayers-held-for-late-mqm-convener#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 07 Nov 10 11:36:32 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[express]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=73681</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Family, friends, MQM leaders and activists present on occasion, venue for special prayers secured by rangers.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Special prayers for late Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader Dr Imran Farooq are being held at  his family home and al Safa Mosque in Sharifabad, Karachi.

The MQM leader was laid to rest at Shuhada Graveyard in Yaseenabad on  Saturday amidst strict security.

Family, friends, MQM leaders and activists were present on the occasion and the venue for special prayers has been secured by rangers and police  personnel.

Express 24/7 correspondent Masroor Hussain reported over a thousand mourners gathered in the Lal Qila ground in the vicinity of MQM headquarters Nine Zero to attend the special prayers, reciting the Holy Quran and fateha for the departed MQM leader.

Hussain reported the ceremony was held amidst heightened security as guards with snipers were stationed on top of buildings and mourners were being checked for weapons and made to walk through detectors.

Meanwhile, commercial activity in Hyderababd has been halted to  express grief over the death of the MQM leader. A majority of shops and fuel stations remain closed in the city.]]>
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			<title>MQM buries founding member Dr Farooq</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/73560/mqm-buries-founding-member-dr-farooq</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/73560/mqm-buries-founding-member-dr-farooq#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 07 Nov 10 07:16:03 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Salman Siddiqui]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=73560</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Muttahida Qaumi Movement rejects transporting body by helicopter.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Hundreds of thousands of mourners made up the funeral procession for Dr Imran Farooq as it snaked down the road from Aisha Manzil towards the Shauhada graveyard.

‘Imran teray khoon se inqilaab ayega!’

Emotions ran high, echoing off the very walls that once reverberated with the celebrations of his electoral victories. Security was tight and the air solemn following the funeral prayers of Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s slain Convener Dr Imran Farooq at Jinnah Ground, Azizabad, on Saturday.

Despite the passage of close to two months since the MQM leader was killed outside his London flat, the passion among the party workers and sympathisers remained strong, as evident from the entire event.

Draped in the MQM flag, Dr Farooq’s coffin was carried to Shauhada ground in Yaseenabad, and his mortal remains were finally laid to rest after a 51-day wait.

Aside from the sea of people, the slogans, the helicopters hovering overhead gave the entire event an apocalyptic feel.

Social worker Abdul Sattar Edhi who attended the event was quoted in the media as saying that after first prime minister Liaquat Ali Khan’s funeral in 1951, Farooq’s was the biggest in Karachi.

Senior MQM leader Faisal Subzwari said the party had been advised to take Farooq’s body aboard a helicopter due to security reasons. But he hinted that such a move could have hurt the party politically. “Had we done that people would have thought that the MQM had become so weak that it couldn’t even ensure that the body of its convener could pass through the streets of Karachi,” he said.

MQM supporters and sympathisers began reaching Jinnah ground from 9 am. Each wore a black ribbon on their arm as they crossed Muqqa chowk. Public buses of routes W-22, Ilyas coaches and private cars were used to shuttle people in from all across the city.

MQM leaders put the turnout at the funeral ceremony at over 200,000.

More than a dozen electronic walk-through gates were installed as the party rightly anticipated a huge pouring in of admirers. To add to the airtight security, pat-down searches was also conducted at a number of spots. Ring after ring of volunteers held hands around the coffin.

Once in, mourners were guided by volunteers to make rows in a disciplined and orderly fashion. As the heat beat down, volunteers offered everyone mineral water bottles.

Volunteers in a special dress code were seen patrolling all roads leading towards the MQM headquarters. All roads and even the lanes leading to the main venue were blocked. Not a single vehicle was allowed to cross the makeshift barriers where volunteers stood on guard. Pedestrians were allowed to move in the area declared the “red zone” and every volunteer was ordered to stick to the SOP designed by the security committee. The entry to the graveyard was also restricted with family members given priority.

The volunteers in and outside Jinnah ground were seen coordinating with officials from the Bomb Disposal Unit and Pakistan Rangers who moved through the ground with gadgets and sniffer dogs.

The MQM’s Faisal Subzwari appreciated the security measures and cooperation extended by the government and federal interior minister who personally supervised the security till the burial was over.

with additional reporting by zeeshan mujahid

Published in The Express Tribune, November 7th, 2010.]]>
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			<title>Multitude attend Imran Farooq’s funeral</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/73309/imran-farooqs-body-arrives-in-karachi</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/73309/imran-farooqs-body-arrives-in-karachi#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 07 Nov 10 06:27:23 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Salman Siddiqui]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=73309</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Large contingent of MQM leaders accompanied body from London’s Heathrow airport.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Hundreds of thousands of mourners converged at the Jinnah ground in Azizabad on Saturday to pay their last respects to Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) convener Dr Imran Farooq amidst heavy security.

Farooq’s remains were buried at the Shuhada (martyrs) graveyard in Yaseenabad.

Earlier, Farooq’s body arrived at the Jinnah International Airport via a PIA flight at 10:15 am and was received by Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad and Interior Minister Rehman Malik. A large contingent of MQM leaders, including Deputy Convener Dr Farooq Sattar, MNA Haider Abbas Rizvi and Mustafa Kamal, former nazim Karachi, had accompanied the body from London’s Heathrow airport. Farooq’s widow Shumaila Imran, their two children and other family members also arrived along with the body.

There was a complete lock-down in the city as the coffin, wrapped in MQM colours in a Khidmat-e-Khalq Foundation ambulance, made its way to Dr Farooq’s residence in Sharifabad. The funeral convoy included at least 30 security vans and an armoured personnel carrier. Two helicopters also hovered above the route of the funeral convoy. Around 6,000 Rangers and police personnel were on duty.

Prominent among those who attended the funeral included Pakistan Peoples Party’s Pir Mazharul Haq, Sunni Tehreek’s Shakeel Qadri, Senator Dr Syed Abdul Khaliq Pirzada and UAE businessman Sohail al Zarouni. The governor and interior minister did not attend the funeral.

Clerics from all sects also attended the funeral prayers, including Maulana Taufiqur Najafi, Maulana Asad Thanvi, Maulana Syed Azhar Hussain Naqvi, Maulana Ameen Abdullah, Maulana Yusuf Hussaini, Allama Azhar Hussain Naqvi, Ameer Abul Farooq and Maulana Ferozuddin Rehmani.

As soon as Dr Farooq’s body arrived at the ground where his funeral prayers were offered, party activists shouted full-throated slogans: ‘Imran teray khoon say, Inqilaab ayega’ (Your blood will spark a revolution).

Maulana Thanvi led the funeral prayers.

At the Yaseenabad graveyard, Dr Sattar announced that Dr Farooq’s soyem would take place between Zuhr and Isha prayers on Sunday.

According to a press release issued from Nine Zero, MQM chief Altaf Hussain commended his workers for excellent arrangements for Dr Farooq’s funeral. He spoke with members of the coordination committee after the burial and paid tribute to his slain comrade.

“He will forever remain alive in my heart and the hearts of workers and supporters of MQM and his blood will herald a revolution of the poor and middle class people in the country,” Hussain said.

Meanwhile, Sabzwari said the party had complete confidence in the Scotland Yard’s investigations into Farooq’s murder.

“Unlike our law-enforcement authorities, they have a good track record of solving such cases. We are looking forward to their report,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 7th, 2010.]]>
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			<title>Markets, businesses stay shut</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/73508/markets-businesses-stay-shut</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/73508/markets-businesses-stay-shut#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 06 Nov 10 20:58:30 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[farhan.zaheer]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=73508</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Markets remain closed in the wake of arrival of Dr Imran Farooq’s body from London and funeral prayers that followed.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Markets and businesses remained closed in Karachi on Saturday in the wake of arrival of MQM leader Dr Imran Farooq’s body from London and the funeral prayers that followed.

A day ago, many trade organisations had announced that they would keep their businesses closed in sympathy with the family of the deceased. Traders Action Committee (Tac) Chairman Siddiq Memon said shop-owners halted business on Saturday and Sunday to show solidarity with the MQM and also as a precautionary measure.

He said that all 580 markets of the city remained shut on Saturday and that they would not open for business on Sunday either – the day Farooq’s Soyem will be observed. “We want to run businesses continuously but cannot ignore the volatile security situation in the city,” Memon added.

Abdul Jabbar, a shop owner at Tariq Road, one of the busiest shopping areas of the city, said: “We decided to take a two-day off due to the fragile security situation.”

Former chairman Federal B Area Association of Trade and Industry (FBATI) Idrees Gigi said most factories in his industrial zone were closed on Saturday.

“Workers could not reach places of work because of non-availability of public transport.”

Korangi Association of Trade and Industry (Kati) Chairman Jauhar Ali Qandahari also said that almost all factories remained closed in the industrial area he represents.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 7th, 2010.]]>
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			<title>Businesses to remain shut today</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/73141/businesses-to-remain-shut-today</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/73141/businesses-to-remain-shut-today#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 06 Nov 10 05:59:27 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[mobin.nasir]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=73141</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Traders agreed to close shops early on Friday night.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Commercial activity in Karachi grinded to a halt on Friday night as business owners appeared wary of the security situation on the eve of the arrival of Dr Imran Farooq’s body in the city.

Shops in many areas including Gulshan, Gulistan-e-Jauhar, Nazimabad, Hyderi and Saddar shut early on Friday as the tense security situation prompted businesses to close after sunset.

“Since this is the start of shopping season for Eid, shops and markets were supposed to stay open daily, including Sundays, till midnight,” said Traders Action Committee Karachi chairman Siddiq Memon.

“However, due to the arrival of the body and the funeral prayers, representatives of 580 markets from across the city held consultations and decided to close down businesses from Friday afternoon until Monday morning,” added Memon. “Traders want to express their respect and condolences and at the same time do not want to take a risk given the security situation of the city,” he said.

Shopkeepers have also announced that from Monday onwards shops will remain open late for Eid shoppers. For now, the city’s merchants will be staying in for the weekend.

“The import shipments that have arrived at different ports will only be collected next week now,” said Memon. He also asserted that “due to the closure of businesses on these days, we will collectively suffer a loss of Rs16 billion as lost revenue while the government will also lose Rs3.5 billion in taxes from trade activity.”

“We received a message, supposedly from a political party, that instructed us to shut down our shops otherwise the land and drug mafia members may cause trouble for us,” revealed one shop owner on Abdullah Haroon Road. Other business owners have also reported receiving similar “advice”.

Even in the relatively insulated areas of the city, business owners appeared wary. “We have not been informed whether the mall will be shut on Saturday but we have beefed up our security arrangements,” said the security-in-charge for Park Towers, Aziz Khan, adding that “we normally decide in the morning whether to remain open or not.”

Thin attendance at factories expected

Factories and offices across the city are also expecting low attendance and many have already announced that they will remain shut for the remainder of the week although industrial associations have not made any announcements regarding the closure of activity.

“Industries in SITE have not made any concerted decision to close down industries on Saturday,” said SITE Association for Trade and Industry chairman Irfan Aslipari, adding that “on an individual basis some units may decide to remain closed.”

He said “while some of the labourers who live in adjoining areas will probably be able to reach work, others who depend on public transport will probably be unable to attend.”

Many factories have already decided to remain closed for the remainder of the week. “We will close the factory on Saturday and Sunday and will make up for the lost production by working more hours in the following week,” said Asfandyar Farrukh, the director of a leather garments factory in Korangi Industrial Area.

When contacted, representatives of various markets and industries offered their condolences and prayers for the deceased leader of the political party. They have also expressed hope that the unfortunate demise will not lead to disturbance in the security situation of the country’s commercial hub.

Published in The Express Tribune November 6th, 2010.]]>
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			<title>Over 3,000 security personnel on high alert today</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/73113/over-3000-security-personnel-on-high-alert-today</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/73113/over-3000-security-personnel-on-high-alert-today#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sat, 06 Nov 10 05:08:14 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[express]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=73113</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Govt imposes ban on carrying weapons in Karachi to avoid any untoward incidents, ahead of Imran Farooq's funeral.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[More than 3,000 police and Rangers personnel will be on high alert today to ensure foolproof security for the arrival of Dr Imran Farooq’s body from London. The body is expected to arrive around 9 am.

The law-enforcement personnel will be deployed mainly on the route from the airport to Azizabad, where the slain Muttahida Qaumi Movement leader will be buried.

Policemen, who will stand guard from Jinnah International Airport to Moti Mahal in Gulshan-e-Iqbal will be working under DIG East while those deployed between Moti Mahal and Azizabad will be led by DIG West, CCPO Karachi Fayyaz Leghari told Express News. All routes leading to the graveyard from the airport will also be checked by the Bomb Disposal Squad.

In order to avoid any untoward incidents, Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik has also imposed Section 144, a ban on carrying arms, for 48 hours. The ban is scheduled to come into force at the stroke of midnight on Friday.

Malik also held a meeting at the National Crisis Management Cell to finalise security arrangements. It has been decided that Dr Farooq’s body will be taken to Jinnah Grounds in a helicopter. After the namaz-e-janaza, the burial will take place at the Azizabad graveyard. Malik also held a meeting with Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ebad at Governor House to inform him of the security arrangements.

Meanwhile, Sindh Health Minister Dr Sagheer Ahmed is reported to have declared emergency in all government hospitals in the city. The employees of all hospitals will remain on alert till midnight on Sunday.

Alternate routes

Capital City Traffic Police Karachi announced on Friday the following alternate routes.

Road users from Liaquatabad to Sohrab Goth are requested to go through Nazimabad No. 4, Board Office, 5-Star Chowrangi and Nagan Chowrangi. From Liaquatabad No. 10, road users can take a right towards Civic Centre to reach their destinations.

People from Sohrab Goth to Aisha Manzil and Liaquatabad No. 10 can proceed via Sohrab Goth. Take a left turn at the overhead bridge towards Nagan Chowrangi, Sher Shah Suri Road and then take another left turn to Shah Waliullah Road, Fazal Mill and Gulshan-e-Iqbal to reach their destinations.

Additional input by APP/PPI/Online.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 6th, 2010.]]>
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			</item><item>
			<title>Who can curb target killings?</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/73002/who-can-curb-target-killings</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/73002/who-can-curb-target-killings#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 05 Nov 10 20:22:41 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[editorial]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=73002</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[If political parties are unwilling or unable to work towards peace, the police has to do its job without bias.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[The targeted killings that continue to haunt Karachi reflect a breakdown that is an indictment of the entire administration of the city, be it the political parties, the police or the judiciary. It is unfair, then, to single out any one actor for its negligence. Yet, the provincial government has done just that, placing the lion’s share of the blame for the targeted killings on the judiciary. The Sindh government claims that the judiciary is hampering efforts to tackle the problem by setting free on bail those who are responsible for it. The police have also come in for some criticism for corruption and buckling under political pressure. None of what the Sindh government says is untrue. But it is being disingenuous in ignoring the role played by political parties and the police.

While the police and judiciary play a law enforcement and punishment role, political parties have it within their power to cut off violence at its source. Too often, political parties have been content to use violence to demonise its opponents. The one exception to this in recent times was the MQM’s call for restraint after the murder of Imran Farooq. It is no coincidence that there was significantly less blood-letting than feared in the days that followed. With Farooq’s body scheduled to arrive in Karachi this morning, the MQM can play a similar calming role once again.

But if political parties are unwilling or unable to work towards peace, the police has to do its job fearlessly and without bias. One reason so many of those accused of targeted killings are able to get bail is that they plausibly claim in court that they have been arrested only because of their political affiliation. And given the incompetence of many police investigations, there is often insufficient evidence to convict the accused. A truly independent police force, one which can operate without fear of political repercussions, is needed to bring to justice those responsible for the violence in Karachi. Until that happens, the judiciary is little more than a convenient scapegoat for an across-the-board failure.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 6th, 2010.]]>
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				    <img src="https://i.tribune.com.pk/media/images/Ranger-Karachi-target-killing-violence-12-AFP11/Ranger-Karachi-target-killing-violence-12-AFP11.jpg" class="featured_image"/>
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			<title>British police release e-fit in murder probe</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/72924/image-of-suspect-in-dr-imran-farooqs-released</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/72924/image-of-suspect-in-dr-imran-farooqs-released#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 05 Nov 10 14:34:49 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[afp]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=72924</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Britis­h police releas­ed an image of a man they want to speak to in connec­tion to the murder of Dr Imran Farooq.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[British police released an e-fit image Friday of a man they want to speak to in connection with the murder of Dr Imran Farooq outside his London home in September.

"The man is of Asian appearance, aged in his late 20s to early 30s, five foot four inches to five foot six inches tall (163-168 centimetres), of slim build, with piercing eyes, a pointed, pale-skinned face, short black/dark coloured hair, and a goatee-style beard," police said.

They also want to trace a second Asian man in his 30s, described as having a stocky build, about five foot nine inches to five foot 11 inches tall and with short black hair.

Detectives last month said they had found a knife and brick used on the attack on Farooq, 50, who was found with head injuries and stab wounds in north London on September 16. He had been attacked as he returned home from work.

No arrests have yet been made and police said they retain "an open mind as to a motive behind the killing".

Farooq was a founding member of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM). He had claimed asylum in Britain in 1999.]]>
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			<title>Ban imposed on display of weapons in Karachi</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/72850/ban-imposed-on-display-of-weapons-in-karachi</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/72850/ban-imposed-on-display-of-weapons-in-karachi#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 05 Nov 10 07:27:27 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[express]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=72850</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Sindh Home Ministry issues notification cancelling weapons licenses under section 144 ahead of Imran Farooq's burial.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[The Sindh Home Ministry issued a notification banning the display of weapons for at least two days starting at midnight on Friday.

Weapons licenses under section 144 have been cancelled according to a notification issued by the Sindh Home Ministry. The decision will come into effect at midnight today (on Friday).

The notification is part of the security arrangements in place ahead of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader, Dr Imran Farooq's burial in Karachi. Dr Farooq was stabbed to death in London on September 16.

Heavy police contingents have been deployed in sensitive areas and more than 3,000 policemen and rangers will be deployed for Farooq's burial.

Meanwhile, Interior Minister Rehman Malik, in a meeting attended by high level security officials to review security measures, commended the work done by the Sindh Ministry, saying that strict security measures are in place for the burial.

The body will arrive in Karachi tomorrow (Saturday) while the funeral prayer will be held at Jinnah Ground in Azizabad and the burial will take place at Yasinabad graveyard.]]>
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				    <img src="https://i.tribune.com.pk/media/images/Ranger-Karachi-target-killing-violence-12-AFP1/Ranger-Karachi-target-killing-violence-12-AFP1.jpg" class="featured_image"/>
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			<title>Funeral prayers held for MQM’s Imran Farooq</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/72522/dr-imran-farooqs-funeral-held-in-london</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/72522/dr-imran-farooqs-funeral-held-in-london#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 05 Nov 10 04:40:42 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[Salman Siddiqui]]>
			</dc:creator>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=72522</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[Body expected to arrive in Karachi on Saturday, burial to take place at Yasinabad graveyard.]]>
			</description>
			<content:encoded>
				<![CDATA[Funeral prayers for slain Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) convener Dr Imran Farooq were offered at a mosque in a London suburb on Thursday.

Dr Farooq was stabbed to death earlier on the eve of the birthday of MQM chief Altaf Hussain, September 16.

After the ceremony in London, his remains were kept at a mortuary in the West Hendon Islamic Centre. The body will be flown from London to Karachi at 9pm UK time on Friday night.

A second funeral ceremony is scheduled to take place on Saturday at Azizabad’s Jinnah Ground in Karachi. Preparations for burial at Yasinabad graveyard have been completed. A large number of MQM activists from all over the city and Hyderabad are expected to attend the event.

Strict security arrangements have been made for the ceremony in Karachi and law-enforcement authorities were drawing up plans to counter any possible threats. At the time of the filing of this report, Interior Minister Rehman Malik was in a late-night meeting with Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad to finalise security plans specifically drawn up by the Capital City Police Officer Fayyaz Leghari. Police and Rangers personnel are already in a state of high alert due to the presence of President Asif Ali Zardari in Karachi, who is expected to stay here till Sunday.

According to a press release issued by the Nine-Zero, the MQM headquarters in Karachi, a large number of party leaders, including the chief Altaf Hussain, deputy convener Dr Farooq Sattar, Tariq Jawed, Salim Shahzad, Anis Advocate, Muhammad Anwer, Syed Tariq Mir, Raza Haroon, Mustafa Kamal, Wasay Jalil, Mustafa Azizabadi, Qasim Ali Raza, Asif Siddiqui and Haider Abbas Rizvi attended the London ceremony. All of them, excluding the MQM chief, would accompany the body to its final resting place in Karachi.

Family members of the slain leader, including his father Farooq Ahmed, two brothers-in-law, widow, sons, mother and sisters were also present on the occasion.

UK High Commissioner for Pakistan Wajid Shamsul Hassan, Deputy High Commissioner Asif Ali Durrani, comedian Omar Sharif and social worker Ansar Burney also attended the ceremony.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 5th, 2010.]]>
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			<title>Dr Imran Farooq's body to arrive on Saturday</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/71938/dr-imran-farooqs-body-to-arrive-on-saturday</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/71938/dr-imran-farooqs-body-to-arrive-on-saturday#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Wed, 03 Nov 10 15:19:31 +0500</pubDate>
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				<![CDATA[ppi]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
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			<description>
				<![CDATA[Party suspends political and organizational activities for 3 days, to resume after burial of Dr Imran Farooq.]]>
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				<![CDATA[The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) on Wednesday announced suspending all its political and organisational activities for three days, from November 4 to 7, 2010, to honor the death of Dr Imran Farooq.

The funeral prayer for the deceased leader will take place on November 4 in London, after which the body will be flown to Pakistan for burial, a press release said.

The body will arrive in Karachi on Saturday and the funeral prayer will be held at Jinnah Ground in Azizabad, and the burial will take place at Yasinabad graveyard

The Soyem will be held on November 7.

Dr Imran Farooq was murdered in a knife attack in the Edgware district of London on September 16, 2010.

This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:

Correction: Nov 5, 2010

Due to a typographical error, an earlier version of this article misstated the date of Dr Imran Farooq's assassination as Sept 7, 2010. The correct date is Sept 16, 2010.]]>
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			<title>Body expected this weekend</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/71098/body-expected-this-weekend</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/71098/body-expected-this-weekend#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 02 Nov 10 03:55:50 +0500</pubDate>
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				<![CDATA[express]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=71098</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[The body of Imran Farooq is expected to reach Karachi over the coming weekend.]]>
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				<![CDATA[The body of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader Imran Farooq is expected to reach Karachi over the coming weekend, it was revealed on Monday after a meeting of the MQM Rabita Committee.

After numerous changes in the schedule for the body to be handed over to the family, MQM sources revealed on Monday that while detectives from Scotland Yard’s counter-terrorism command are currently handling the investigation, Farooq’s body is likely to be handed over to the family some time over this week. If this happens, Farooq’s funeral prayers will first be held in London on Thursday, after which the body is expected to be flown to Karachi on Friday. It is likely that it will reach Karachi on Saturday.

MQM sources revealed that the namaz-e-janaza is expected to be offered at Jinnah Ground on Saturday, after which he is likely to be buried at the Shuhada Qabristan in Azizabad.

Meanwhile, all MNAs belonging to the MQM have been summoned to Karachi, while the party announced that it would suspend all its organisational activities till the burial. Interestingly, the Awami National Party (ANP) in Sindh announced that all of its wards will also limit their political activities till the funeral.

On the other hand, Scotland Yard has yet to arrive at a conclusion regarding Farooq’s murder. After the MQM leader was stabbed to death outside his apartment building in London on September 16, the Yard initiated its investigations, which so far suggest that the key leader may have been killed over a business dispute.

Farooq used to work at a store which he partly owned. He bought the store in 2008 and, according to sources, was trying to sell it. While the investigators are not ruling out the possibility that the murder may have resulted from a dispute over the sale of the store, no arrests have been made as yet.

with additional writing by Rabia Ashfaque

Published in The Express Tribune, November 2nd, 2010.]]>
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			<title>Scotland Yard to hand over body in seven days</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/70304/scotland-yard-to-hand-over-body-in-seven-days</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/70304/scotland-yard-to-hand-over-body-in-seven-days#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Sun, 31 Oct 10 06:50:16 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[naseem.siddiqui]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=70304</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[It is believed that British authorities may conduct another post-mortem before handing over the body.]]>
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				<![CDATA[The investigation team in London has decided to hand over Dr Imran Farooq’s body to his parents, Express News learnt on Saturday.

The process will take around six to seven days, sources said. It is also believed that British authorities may conduct another post-mortem before handing over the body.

On October 27, Dr Farooq’s parents, Farooq Ahmed and Raeesa Begum, left Karachi for London where they met the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain upon arrival.

Later, the parents met a team of the Scotland Yard along with Dr Farooq’s wife, Shumaila Imran. They also made a special request to the investigation team to hand over the body as soon as possible so that they can take it back to Pakistan for burial.

The MQM Secretariat in London has also been notified of this development, sources said.

A namaz-e-janaza will be arranged for the slain MQM leader in the secretariat as well. After the funeral, the body will be taken to Pakistan for burial.

Dr Farooq was stabbed to death outside his apartment building in London on September 16. Since then, the Scotland Yard has been investigating the murder but they have yet to reach any conclusions.

Investigations are, however, going ahead since the team raided on Friday the store where Dr Farooq used to work. He was the part-owner of this store, which he bought in 2008. Sources said that Dr Farooq was trying to sell the store before his murder as he was going through financial troubles.

The investigators are, therefore, not ruling out the possibility that the murder may have resulted from a dispute between partners or over the sale of the store. So far, there have been no arrests in connection with the murder.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 31st, 2010.]]>
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			<title>Dr Farooq’s parents leave for London</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/68706/dr-farooq%e2%80%99s-parents-leave-for-london</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/68706/dr-farooq%e2%80%99s-parents-leave-for-london#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Thu, 28 Oct 10 03:59:38 +0500</pubDate>
			<dc:creator>
				<![CDATA[express]]>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">https://tribune.com.pk/?p=68706</guid>
			<description>
				<![CDATA[According to officials, they have gone to bring his body back to Pakistan.]]>
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				<![CDATA[Parents of Dr Imran Farooq left for London on Wednesday.

Dr Imran Farooq, Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s (MQM) convener who was assassinated outside his London home, was stabbed to death on September 16 this year.

His father, Farooq Ahmed and mother, Raeesa Begum, will meet Dr Imran’s wife Shumaila Imran.

According to officials, they have gone to bring his body back to Pakistan.

They are also scheduled to meet MQM chief Altaf Hussain.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 28th, 2010.]]>
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			<title>Party pressures govt on Karachi violence</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/64381/party-pressures-govt-on-karachi-violence</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/64381/party-pressures-govt-on-karachi-violence#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Tue, 19 Oct 10 03:53:06 +0500</pubDate>
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			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
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				<![CDATA[MQM steps up pressure on the government to protect its workers against violence.]]>
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				<![CDATA[Pakistan’s dominant political force in Karachi has stepped up pressure on the government to protect its workers after violence again raised fears of instability in the country’s commercial capital.

The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) threatened to pull out of the coalition government of President Zardari after at least 33 people were killed in weekend attacks that coincided with a by-election to replace a MQM lawmaker murdered in August.

That could lead to the central government losing its majority in the National Assembly, or its downfall if the MQM allied itself with the opposition. The government already faces an array of problems, including a possible showdown with the judiciary, a Taliban insurgency and the task of rebuilding after summer floods that made more than 10 million homeless and are likely to strain the economy for years.

The MQM has made similar threats before but the latest bloodshed has increased the chances of that happening, party sources say. Several party workers were killed, the MQM said.

“We are under immense pressure from our workers and voters to take some action,” said a senior MQM leader. “We cannot tolerate the continued killings of our workers and are increasingly unable to justify our presence in a government which has failed to protect us.”

Sindh Police Surgeon Hamid Parhiar said the latest deaths were being treated as politically linked  targeted killings. “At least 31 deaths have been recorded in targeted killings in different hospitals of the city so far,” Parhiar told AFP. “They had bullet wounds and appeared to be ordinary people from the lower middle class.”

Chief of police Fayyaz Leghari put the death toll at 30  and said that at least 40 people were injured, adding that 60 arrests had been made in connection with the violence.

Witnesses said that shops, markets and offices in the city were open on  Monday but the atmosphere was tense. Karachi is plagued by ethnic and sectarian killings, crime and  kidnappings.

A founding member of the MQM, Imran Farooq, who was living in exile in  Britain, was brutally murdered outside his north London home in September. The government has not released exact figures, but rights groups say more  than 260 targeted killings were reported in Karachi during the first six months  of this year, compared with 156 during the same period in 2009.

A combustible mix of political and ethnic rivalries, sometimes linked to criminal gangs, and militancy makes Karachi prone to violence.

Stock market investors keep a wary eye on tension in Karachi, home to Pakistan’s main port, stock exchange and central bank and the main gateway for Western military supplies bound for neighbouring landlocked Afghanistan.

The MQM blamed its rival ethnic Pashtun-based Awami National Party (ANP) for the weekend killings, an allegation it denied.

It has repeatedly said that the provincial government, dominated by Zardari’s Pakistan People’s Party, had failed to stop the violence in the sprawling city of 18 million people.

Unofficial results showed the MQM sweeping Sunday’s election for a provincial seat to replace lawmaker Raza Haider, whose shooting triggered violence which killed 100 people in a week.

The MQM’s Ishrat-ul Ebad, governor of the Sindh province, met Zardari late on Sunday night to offer his resignation but kept the decision “on hold” after getting assurances the government will move swiftly to control violence, said a party official.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 19th, 2010.]]>
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			<title>Government and judiciary should stop conspiring against each other: Altaf Hussain</title>
			<link>https://tribune.com.pk/story/63182/government-and-judiciary-should-stop-conspiring-against-each-other-altaf-hussain</link>
			<comments>https://tribune.com.pk/story/63182/government-and-judiciary-should-stop-conspiring-against-each-other-altaf-hussain#comments</comments>
			<pubDate>Fri, 15 Oct 10 17:19:09 +0500</pubDate>
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				<![CDATA[The MQM leader said this while addressing the election campaign at PS-94 constituency in Karachi's Orangi Town.]]>
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				<![CDATA[MQM chief Altaf Hussain says government and judiciary should stop conspiring against each other.

He said this while addressing the election campaign at PS-94 constituency in Karachi's Orangi Town adding that courts and lawyers should respect each other.

The MQM leader said he is confident that his party candidate will win the bi-election and condemned the killing of MQM workers in Karachi.

Altaf said Scotland Yard is investigating the murder of MQM leader Dr Imran Farooq and the culprits will be arrested soon.

He said government should take solid steps to eliminate corruption and fuedal system from the country.

Altaf Hussain's speech comes as the election campaign for the strategically important PS-94 by-election come to an end.

A tight competition is expected for the seat. Key contestants for the seat are candidates from PPP, MQM and ANP.

The ANP leader Shahi Syed demanded yesterday that rangers be deployed at all polling stations ahead of the by-polls that are scheduled to be help on October 17.]]>
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