The judgment also calls on the governments of Pakistan and UK to track down and arrest Altaf Hussain, Iftikhar Hussain, Mohammad Anwar, and Kashif Kamran, bringing them before a court of law. The ruling says the murder was designed “to intimidate and overawe the public in general and workers of MQM in particular so that in future no one can raise voice against Altaf Hussain”. This is backed up by Farooq’s notes, which suggest he believed that he may be killed on the pretext of trying to take charge of the party, and the confession of Shamim, who assigned the other two men to stab Farooq.
The British High Commission called it a “ground-breaking piece of collaboration” between Islamabad and London. Indeed, the trial had been on hold for ages because of the initial hurdles in evidence sharing. This was because Britain was unwilling to share evidence that might lead to death sentences for the accused. Many nations similarly bar deportation of suspects who would face a more severe penalty in a foreign court than the one given by domestic ones, or when the foreign crime is not a crime in the local jurisdiction. Pakistan had to agree to limit the maximum penalty to life imprisonment to get evidence sharing rolling.
The MQM founder already faces a separate terrorism case in Britain relating to an incendiary speech. Pakistan being open to such cooperation may open the door for him and dozens of other absconders to eventually face punishment in the land they have terrorised for so many years.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 20th, 2020.
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