Imran Farooq ( ur, ; 14 June 1960 – 16 September 2010)
was a British-Pakistani politician who was best known for his association with the
Muttahida Qaumi Movement Muttahida Qaumi Movement (abbreviated MQM) is a name currently claimed by two competing Pakistani political factions:
* Muttahida Qaumi Movement – London, a political faction managed from the UK
* Muttahida Qaumi Movement – Pakistan
Muttah ...
(MQM), a political party in Pakistan, of which he was a very senior member. He was also a founding member of the All Pakistan Muhajir Student Organization. Farooq held several positions in MQM and the Pakistani government. He lived in London in self-imposed exile from 1999 until he was murdered in September 2010.
Biography
Imran Farooq was born in
Karachi
Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...
, Pakistan. His father, Farooq Ahmed, was born in
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...
,
British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
before he migrated to
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...
after the
independence
Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...
of
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...
Muhajir
Muhajir or Mohajir ( ar, مهاجر, '; pl. , ') is an Arabic word meaning ''migrant'' (see immigration and emigration) which is also used in other languages spoken by Muslims, including English. In English, this term and its derivatives may refer ...
. Farooq was a physician by education. He graduated from
Sindh Medical College
Jinnah Sindh Medical University (), formerly known as ''Sindh Medical College'', is a medical university in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. It gained university status in June 2012.
History
Jinnah Sindh Medical University, formerly known as Sindh Med ...
in Karachi, Pakistan with an MBBS degree in 1985. In 2004, Farooq married a former member of the
Sindh Assembly
The Provincial Assembly of Sindh ( ur, ) is a unicameral legislature of elected representatives of the Pakistani provinces, Pakistani province of Sindh, and is located in Karachi, the provincial capital. It was established under Article 106 of ...
, Shumaila Nazar. He fathered two children. Farooq was related to Tahir Qureshi (former MPA). Farooq's great grandfather was also once the governor of Delhi, India.
In 2019, several news agencies reported that Shumaila Farooq was living in extreme poverty with her two sons, relying on handouts from the British government. In 2020, on a Geo News talk show, she revealed that she was diagnosed with Stage 2 Oral Cancer in 2019 and that none of the leaders of MQM reached out for help.
Although he was not a writer by profession, Farooq authored several works during his lifetime. His best known contribution is ''The Guiding Principles of MQM''.
Mohajir Quami Movement
In 1978, Farooq helped established the All Pakistan Muhajir Student Organization. When in 1984, it gave birth to the Mohajir Quami Movement, Farooq served as its first Secretary General and Convener. In 1988, he was elected to the
Pakistan National Assembly
The National Assembly ( ur, , translit=Aiwān-e-Zairīñ, , or ur, قومی اسمبلی, romanized: ''Qaumi Assembly'') is the lower legislative house of the bicameral Parliament of Pakistan, which also comprises the Senate of Pakistan (upp ...
and became the Parliamentary Leader of the MQM.
By 1992, the MQM had become a political force in Karachi. In an effort to curtail its power, the
Pakistani government
The Government of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=hakúmat-e pákistán) abbreviated as GoP, is a federal government established by the Constitution of Pakistan as a constituted governing authority of the four provinces, two autonomous territories, ...
launched
Operation Clean-up
Operation Clean-up, also known as Operation Blue Fox, was an armed military intelligence program led by the Sindh Police and Pakistan Rangers, with an additional assistance from the Pakistan Army and its related intelligence agencies. Planned ...
and sent the
military
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
into Karachi to crack down on the movement, causing the leadership, including Farooq, to go into hiding. After being in hiding for nearly seven years, Farooq escaped from Pakistan in 1999, sought
political asylum
The right of asylum (sometimes called right of political asylum; ) is an ancient juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereign authority, like a second country or another ent ...
in the United Kingdom and later gained
British citizenship
British nationality law prescribes the conditions under which a person is recognised as being a national of the United Kingdom. The six different classes of British nationality each have varying degrees of civil and political rights, due to the ...
. From London, Farooq continued to lead the MQM with Altaf Hussain and other senior members of the party from exile.
When Farooq left Pakistan, he had a bounty on his head. Farooq was charged with terrorism, which he denied upon arrival in London. The charges against Farooq were challenged by his mother in 1992 in the
Sindh High Court
The High Court of Sindh ( ur, ) is the highest judicial institution of the Pakistani province of Sindh. Established in 1906, the Court situated in the provincial capital at Karachi. Apart from being the highest Court of Appeal for Sindh in ...
(SHC). The SHC's verdict declared the bounty to be illegal and unconstitutional; the consequent appeal by the provincial
Government of Sindh
The Government of Sindh ( sd, حڪومت سنڌ) ( ur, ) is the provincial government of the province of Sindh, Pakistan. Its powers and structure are set out in the provisions of the 1973 Constitution, in which 30 Districts of 7 Divisions u ...
was dismissed by the Supreme Court.
Farooq maintained close relations with Altaf Hussain, who called Farooq his "staunch, loyal, and senior companion." In 2004, when Farooq got married in London, Hussain attended the festivities.
Murder, investigation and conviction
Farooq was found murdered near his home in
North London
North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshire.
The term ''nor ...
The News International
''The News International'', published in broadsheet size, is one of the largest English language newspapers in Pakistan. It is published daily from Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi/Islamabad. An overseas edition is published from London that cater ...
''. 2 October 2010. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
The Metropolitan Police said they were called on the complaint of a "serious assault" in Green Lane,
Edgware
Edgware () is a suburban town in northern Greater London, mostly in the London Borough of Barnet but with small parts falling in the London Borough of Harrow and in the London Borough of Brent. Edgware is centred north-northwest of Charing Cros ...
, where they found Farooq, who had suffered multiple stab wounds and head injuries. Despite the efforts of paramedics, Farooq was pronounced dead. An autopsy determined the cause of death as being
head trauma
A head injury is any injury that results in trauma to the skull or brain. The terms ''traumatic brain injury'' and ''head injury'' are often used interchangeably in the medical literature. Because head injuries cover such a broad scope of inju ...
and stab wounds to the neck. The suspect(s) had fled the scene leaving behind a 14 cm (5 in) knife and a house brick used to commit the crime.
An unidentified suspect was arrested in December 2010.
Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) Counter Terrorism Command detectives investigating Farooq's murder believe that he was building his independent political profile in the months before he was killed.
In June 2013, British police arrested Iftikhar Hussain, a primary suspect in the murder case. According to sources familiar with the developments, the detainee is a relative of a top Pakistani politician. The arrest was made in response to forensic evidence gathered by the police. The Scotland Yard stated that they had sought the
Call Detail Record
A call detail record (CDR) is a data record produced by a telephone exchange or other telecommunications equipment that documents the details of a telephone call or other telecommunications transactions (e.g., text message) that passes through that ...
(CDR) along with text messages from the SIM obtained from Hussain.
According to sources privy to the development at Scotland Yard, the information obtained from the SIM of Iftikhar Hussain has brought previously unknown facts and connections into the limelight. According to the Yard, the killing may be politically motivated with the secondary objective of
money-laundering
Money laundering is the process of concealing the origin of money, obtained from illicit activities such as drug trafficking, corruption, embezzlement or gambling, by converting it into a legitimate source. It is a crime in many jurisdictions ...
. However, the police refrained from disclosing the information as the investigation is currently ongoing.
A prominent Pakistan journalist,
Najam Sethi
Najam Aziz Sethi (Urdu, pa, ; born 20 May 1948) is a Pakistani journalist, businessman and cricket administrator, currently serving as the chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). He also is the founder of ''The Friday Times'' and ''Vangua ...
, in his programme ''Apas ki Baat, ''stated that Farooq had registered a complaint against threat to life with the
London Metropolitan Police
The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...
prior to his murder.
Major suspect of the murder case, Khalid Shamim, confessed on 10 November 2016 that all the planning of murder took place on
Nine Zero
Nine Zero (نائن زیرو) was the name given to the headquarters of Pakistan's political party, Muttahida Qaumi Movement founded in 1984. It was located in Azizabad, a sub-division of Federal B. Area, Karachi.
The house was constructed o ...
. He revealed that 16 September was chosen as the date to murder as a birthday gift to Altaf Hussain.
On 18 June 2020, ten years since his murder, an anti-terrorism court of Islamabad convicted the three accused namely: Syed Mohsin Ali, Moazzam Ali and Khalid Shamim. They were sentenced to life imprisonment and were also imposed a fine of Rs 1.2 million each for the murder.
Reactions to death
Pakistani President
Asif Ali Zardari
Asif Ali Zardari ( ur, ; sd, ; born 26 July 1955) is a Pakistani politician who is the president of Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians and was the co-chairperson of Pakistan People's Party. He served as the 11th president of Pakist ...
expressed his deep sorrow and shock saying that "Imran was a great political leader who rendered his services for his party diligently." Prime Minister
Yousaf Raza Gilani
Yusuf Raza Gilani (Urdu
Urdu (;"Urdu" '' Pakistani Senate adjourned a session of parliament and paid tribute to Farooq from across the political spectrum. Pakistan's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom
Wajid Shamsul Hasan
Wajid Shamsul Hasan (died 28 September 2021) was a Pakistani diplomat since June 2008. He served as the High Commissioner of Pakistan to the United Kingdom.
called on the police to find the "sinister hand" behind the assassination. He added that "The Pakistani government has condemned this murder in the strongest possible words, "that Farooq "was really highly respected by whatever political groups...He believed more in solutions to problems than creating problems and his assassination needs to be condemned in the strongest possible way because he was not a violent person."
Altaf Hussain also lauded Farooq's long relationship with him and said he was at a loss to explain his grief at Dr. Farooq's death, adding that Farooq had set an example for others to follow. He also called Farooq a "''Shaheed-e-Inqalab''" or Martyr of the Revolution. Altaf Hussain also very publicly mourned the death of his colleague.
Following reports of his death, violence erupted in his native city of Karachi, Pakistan's main commercial city. Several shops and vehicles were set on fire; however, no casualties were reported. MQM called for a 10-day strike to mourn Farooq's death.
Recitations of the Quran and prayers were organised by members of MQM across the world.