Reuters/London
Altaf Hussain, the leader of one of Pakistan’s major political parties, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), who lives in exile in London, was questioned again yesterday over money-laundering allegations, his party said.
Hussain, who effectively controls Pakistan’s largest city Karachi from his north London home, was originally arrested by British police last June, leading to protests which led to a lockdown in Karachi, Pakistan’s commercial capital and home to 18mn people.
MQM, which denies involvement in money-laundering, said on its Twitter website he had returned to a central London police station yesterday for a scheduled interview with detectives, and was released on police bail until July after further questioning.
“I urge my millions of party members and supporters across the world to remain calm during this process. I have every faith in the British justice system,” Hussain said in a statement.
“I hope that this extension will allow the authorities to conclude their investigation as quickly as possible.”
There was no immediate comment from London police.
Hussain, who is wanted in his homeland in relation to a murder case, has been living in self-imposed exile in Britain since 1992 and obtained British citizenship a decade later.
He is known for his fiery addresses to his supporters in Karachi through a loudspeaker connected to a telephone in his London home.
His hold on the sprawling and violent southern port city is so strong that he is capable of shutting down entire neighbourhoods.
Earlier this month Mohamed Anwar, a member of MQM’s Central Co-ordination Committee, was also arrested at his home in north London as part of the ongoing investigation into the money-laundering allegations.
In 2010, Imran Farooq, a founding member of MQM who was on the run from Pakistani police accused of involvement in murder and other serious crimes, was stabbed to death in London.
Altaf hussain
