Imran Farooq murder case: Investigators eye evidence-collecting trip

JIT seeks permission to visit Britain and Sri Lanka

ISLAMABAD: Investigators probing the Imran Farooq murder case want to fly out of the country in a bid to collect evidence against the suspects on trial in Pakistan for collaborating to assassinate the MQM leader in London.

The Joint Investigation Team (JIT) has sought permission of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) director-general to visit the United Kingdom and Sri Lanka, where the two prime suspects allegedly fled after killing Dr Farooq.



The 50-year-old MQM leader was clubbed and stabbed to death near his North London residence in Edgware on September 16, 2010 on his way home from work. At least four men are in custody over their alleged role in planning and carrying out the murder.

The JIT head has sought permission through a formal request, an FIA official told The Express Tribune. The team wants to collect more evidence, which might help the prosecution.

The agency had constituted a three-member team headed by Mazhar Kakakhel to probe the case in July last year. The investigators have not yet submitted the complete charge sheets against the accused on trial in an anti-terrorism court in Islamabad.

“Evidence from abroad will definitely help us determine the exact role of each of the suspects,” the official said. “To sanction the visit, the FIA chief will have to ask the interior ministry for approval, which will be granted soon.”

Two suspects Khalid Shamim and Mohsin Ali have recorded their statements before a magistrate, confessing that Dr Farooq was killed because he had become a “potent threat to the top leadership” of the MQM.



Another man Moazzam Ali, a trader from Karachi, is also in custody for his role in the assassination. He has not yet recorded a confessional statement in the case, which was registered last December.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 14^th, 2016.