Pakistan’s Muttahida Qaumi Movement party chief Altaf Hussain has been arrested in London on Tuesday on money laundering charges, reports BBC News. Previously, Mr. Hussain had revealed in a TV interview that all his banks accounts in the UK had been frozen. During the interview, the MQM chief had admitted that authorities had conducted raids at his London house and his office.
Karachi shut down on Altaf Hussain’s arrest news
MQM controls Pakistan’s largest city Karachi. Police in Karachi have been put on high alert amid fears of violence. Karachi University has cancelled examinations for Tuesday. Exams in various schools have been postponed, and the Intermediate board exams have also been cancelled. Even the Karachi Stock Exchange plunged by more than 780 points after the news of Altaf Hussain’s arrest broke out. Shops and businesses have been shut down throughout Sindh.
British High Commission in Pakistan confirmed Altaf Hussain’s arrest. The 60-year old political leader was arrested from his house by a special unit of the Scotland Yard. The British High Commission in Karachi was shut down. According to The Express Tribune, party members have gathered at the party headquarters for an emergency meeting.
Police investigating Altaf Hussain’s house in London
Police officers are investigating a Altaf Hussain’s house in north-west London, from where he was arrested. Mr. Hussain has been living in Britain since 1991. Javed Chaudhry said that London police were investigating Altaf Hussain in three cases: money laundering, Imran Farooq murder and hate speech. In June 2013, the Scotland Yard had raised the MQM chief’s house in London to investigate into the Imran Farooq murder case. The investigation had continued for more than 55 hours.
In July 2013, London Police said that they had seized a significant amount of money from the MQM chief’s house in the raid. Imran Farooq, who lived in London since 1999, was attacked outside his house in north London in September 2010. According to post-mortem reports, he was stabbed with kitchen knife. House bricks used in the attack were also recovered.
