Altaf Hussain’s worsening woes

The legal problems keep piling up for MQM founder and Altaf Hussain, as a London court has ruled against him in an ownership dispute with MQM-Pakistan over several properties in the British capital. A bankruptcy court concluded on Monday that MQM-P, rather than Altaf’s MQM-London faction, is the rightful owner of the properties as it is the rightful successor to the ‘original’ MQM, which began fraying some years ago due to internal divisions and state pressure. The judge ruled that MQM-P is the original party’s successor because of its April 2016 constitution and the subsequent removal of Altaf as party chief. This meant Altaf or his London faction could not claim the assets, since they no longer held party offices. The 2016 constitution actually predates by a few months the formal divorce between Altaf and the modern MQM, which the court referred to as Altaf’s “expulsion from MQM-P”, although Altaf and several MQM-P leaders, at least at the time, claimed Altaf had voluntarily stepped down.

Hearings also illustrated how far Altaf has fallen since the days he ruled the MQM with an iron fist and party leaders were afraid to criticise him, even off the record or anonymously. The hearings saw several one-time confidantes openly opposing Altaf and his effort to take over the seven properties, which have a claimed value of over £10 million and include the house he currently lives in. The transfer of ownership would mean, at least in theory, that Altaf is deprived of a major source of revenue, as the MQM-P claimed he was using all the rental and sale income from the properties for personal gain. Although the MQM-P doesn’t immediately need to discuss if and how to evict Altaf since he is expected to appeal the ruling, it would be interesting to many in Pakistan what Altaf’s next steps will be, in a financial sense, because the next phase of the trial could include queries into his alleged misuse of income from the London properties. Combined with his other legal troubles, the walls are certainly tightening around Altaf.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, March 15^th, 2023.

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