Pakistan Politician Murdered In London
4:06pm Friday September 17, 2010
Ruth Barnett
A prominent figure in Pakistani politics has been murdered outside his London home.
Imran Farooq helped to run the MQM from his base in London
Imran Farooq, from Karachi, was a leading member of the MQM party, one of the largest in Pakistan. Police confirmed they were called to an address in Edgware, north London, after reports of a serious assault. "A 50-year-old single Asian man had multiple head wounds and stab wounds. He was confirmed dead at the scene," a Metropolitan Police spokesman said.
Next of kin have been informed, the spokesman added. No one is thought to have been arrested. The MQM party has called for 10 days of mourning in Pakistan. In 1999 Mr Farooq claimed asylum in the UK after years on the run as one of Pakistan's most-wanted figures. He was sought on a range of charges including murder but insisted the allegations were politically motivated.
In Pakistan, he had served as Convenor of the Co-ordination Committee for the MQM, the country's third largest political party and the second biggest in southern Sindh province. The anti-Taliban MQM mainly represents descendants of Urdu-speaking migrants from India who settled in Pakistan when it was created in 1947.
