London- In a major development Muttahida Qaumi Movement chief Altaf Hussain has been arrested by London police in alleged money laundering case, media reported today.
Altaf Hussain was taken under custody from his North West London residence and sent to Central London jail. The counter-terrorism squad of Scotland Yard police arrested Altaf Hussain who would be provided with a lawyer soon. The Scotland Yard has confirmed the arrest.
British high commission in Pakistan said that we could not comment on any legal subject as it is matter of London Metropolitan police and Scotland Yard.
The news broke like fire in jungle and tension gripped Karachi, the stronghold of MQM. Karachi stock exchange crashed 750 points soon after the development while markets of the metropolis were closed. Earlier, a large amount of cash along with important documents were taken into custody by the police when they raided Altaf Hussain’s home in London’s Edgeware neighbourhood in connection with Dr Farooq’s murder on Dec 8, 2013.
The law enforcers initiated a probe into money laundering allegations against the MQM and its chief besides the murder case following the raids. They have said apparently the murder seems carried out through a “planned conspiracy.” There was also a possibility that the murder was carried out with the help of “others deliberately or unintentionally.”
MQM leader Dr Imran Farooq, aged 50, was on his way home from work when he was attacked in Green Lane on Sept 16, 2010 outside his London home. A post-mortem examination found that he died from multiple stab wounds and blunt trauma to the head.
Farooq, one of the founding members of the MQM, then known as the Mohajir Qaumi Movement, had been living in self-imposed exile in London since 1999.