Three London cops to testify in Dr Farooq murder case

FIA submits evidence provided by British authorities to court

ISLAMABAD: An anti-terrorism court in Islamabad on Friday summoned three witnesses on November 6 to record their statements in the murder case of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader Dr Imran Farooq.

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) submitted the CCTV footage, murder weapon, forensic reports and other evidence provided by the British authorities to the court.

The FIA prosecutor told Judge Shahrukh Arjumand that according to the supplementary challan, 23 witnesses wanted to testify before the court. He added that 20 witnesses would record their statements before the court via video link.

The court summoned three officers of the London Metropolitan police to record their statements in their personal capacities and adjourned the hearing.

Dr Farooq, a founding member of the MQM, was stabbed and bludgeoned to death near his apartment in London in September 2010.

On December 5, 2015, the FIA registered a case against the MQM chief and other party leaders for their alleged involvement in the murder.

Dr Farooq, inactive in politics for about two years then, had claimed asylum in Britain after more than seven years on the run from police in Pakistan who had accused him of involvement in murder and other serious crimes. He had denied the charges.

In April this year, the anti-terrorism court recorded the statements of two suspects in the case, Khalid Shamim and Mohsin Ali.
Both men changed their statements of confession.

Khalid said he was tortured prior to the recording of his earlier statement before a magistrate. He added that he was forced by the investigation officer of the case to confess to his involvement in the murder.

Mohsin said he had refused to confess before the magistrate despite being subjected to mental and physical torture.

He alleged that he had complained to the magistrate about his treatment. However, he added, a confession statement prepared earlier was signed and attested by the magistrate.
Khalid, Mohsin and a third suspect, Moazzam Ali, were indicted by an anti-terrorism court last year. The suspects pleaded not guilty to the indictment.

Captain (retd) Shoaib had recorded Khalid and Mohsin’s earlier confessional statements.

According to those statements, Khalid and Mohsin had alleged that Dr Farooq was killed because he was a “potent threat to the MQM leadership”.

The third suspect, Moazzam, had not recorded a confessional statement.

In their earlier statements, Khalid had confessed that Dr Farooq’s murder was a “birthday gift” for the MQM founder and Mohsin had stated that he took part in