‘Key suspect’ in Imran Farooq murder nailed

To be brought to court today; Sindh to form JIT for further probe

ISLAMABAD/ KARACHI:

Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar claimed on Monday that a facilitator of senior Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader Imran Farooq’s murderers has been arrested and will be brought to court on Tuesday (today).

However, there is a lot of confusion surrounding the arrest: though the interior minister never disclosed his name, the media seem to be pointing towards an MQM activist arrested a day earlier; his wife claims that the Rangers arrested him, but the paramilitary force deny it; and the MQM says the man does not belong to their party.

Farooq was 50 when, on September 16, 2010, he was murdered in Green Lane near his London residence. His autopsy report said he had suffered multiple stab wounds and blunt trauma to the head.



Farooq had gone into hiding in 1992 after a government-mandated military crackdown was launched against the MQM in Karachi. He sought asylum in Britain seven years later.

On Monday, Nisar termed the Imran Farooq murder case a “test” for the British and Pakistani governments. Talking about the detainee, he said: “Security forces have arrested a person who is central to this case, the man responsible for arranging visas, tickets and accommodation in England for the two suspected killers of Dr Imran Farooq.”

Though the interior minister did not disclose the detainee’s name, official sources and the media have been pointing towards a man named Moazzam Ali Khan. Moazzam was allegedly arrested by the Rangers during a pre-dawn raid from his house in Block 8 of Federal B Area near Azizabad in Karachi on Sunday.

News outlets started flashing his name on the screens shortly after Nisar’s statement about the arrest of a key suspect in the Imran Farooq murder case.



Rangers officials, however, remained tight-lipped about the whole affair. They did not even acknowledge that they have Moazzam in their custody.

While it is rumoured that Moazzam is an MQM activist, the party’s Aminul Haq said he was never affiliated with the MQM. “While he has been living in Azizabad for many years, the neighbours deny knowing much about him and his activities.”

Wife moves court

Moazzam’s family approached the court on Monday against his alleged detention. A constitutional petition was filed in the Sindh High Court by his wife Sadia Bano.

She claimed that the Rangers had raided her house in the wee hours of April 12 and taken him away. She said she came to know later through the media that the paramilitary force had also seized her husband’s laptop and other belongings.

Sadia said her family had asked the Azizabad police to provide them with information on Moazzam’s whereabouts, but the SHO refused to give them any clue about him. “Similar requests were made to Rangers officers but in vain.”

She argued that her husband’s detention and the law enforcers’ refusal to divulge any information about his whereabouts is a violation of Article 18 of the constitution.

She asked the court to direct the provincial home secretary, Rangers chief and police chief, as well as the Azizabad SHO and other officials to produce Moazzam before the court along with details of any criminal cases against him. The high court is likely to take up the matter for hearing in the coming days.

‘Progress’

“We have completed our homework, and shared all the information with the British government as well as the Scotland Yard,” said the interior minister. He said the exchange of information is making progress in the investigation possible.

An informed official said Moazzam was wanted by the Scotland Yard. Intelligence and law enforcement agencies were in touch with the Scotland Yard on the matter.

Earlier this year, the Scotland Yard had asked Pakistan to trace two suspects, Mohsin Ali and Kashif Khan, believed to have been involved in Imran Farooq’s murder, said an interior ministry official. Nisar, however, parried questions about the arrest of the suspected killers.

The interior minister made it clear once more that the investigation into the MQM leader’s murder was “not politically motivated”. “The investigation is being conducted because those responsible for the murder need to be brought to justice.”

Nisar said the Sindh government would form a joint investigation team (JIT) in the next two days for further investigation into the murder.

Talking about the facilitator’s role, Nisar said he provided the killers with visas and air tickets among other things. “The killers come from poor families. They were in the UK for the first time.”

Another suspect

The law enforcement agencies have also arrested a businessman named Babar Chughtai from Karachi for his alleged involvement in several cases. They, however, have yet to ascertain if he was involved in facilitating the killers of Imran Farooq.

Condemning Chughtai’s arrest, the MQM termed it a “vindictive act”. “Is issuing funds to a political party a crime?” reads a statement issued by the party’s coordination committee.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 14^th, 2015.