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Tuesday March 19, 2024

Labour MP questions Scotland Yard’s ‘reluctance’ in MQM cases  

By Murtaza Ali Shah
August 31, 2016

LONDON: Labour parliamentarian Yasmin Quraishi has called on British Home Secretary Amber Rudd to investigate why Scotland Yard has shown reluctance to take action against the MQM founder over his repeated violent threats to members of Pakistan’s law enforcement agencies and media houses.

Yasmin Qureshi has also written to the Scotland Yard chief Sir Bernard Hogan Howe, drawing his attention to various speeches made by MQM founder in the last few months, including the speech of August 22 which led to attacks on media houses, death of one person and injuries to several people.

In her letter to the Home Secretary, the Labour MP said, “found it incredulous that despite numerous speeches from his home in London through which he clearly incites his followers to commit murder and violence that no action has been taken by our authorities”.

Yasmin Qureshi MP, who worked as a criminal law barrister before becoming the Labour MP, told the Home Secretary that she formerly worked as a Crown Prosecutor.

“I am in no doubt that Mr Altaf Hussain has committed serious offences, similar to those for which Mr Anjem Choudry was recently prosecuted”, she added.

She asked the Home Secretary to hold the police accountable: “I urge you therefore to take immediate steps to investigate the apparent reluctance to take action.”

She reminded the Home Secretary: “Britain has a historically close relationship with Pakistan and a diaspora of 1.1 million citizens in the UK. We have a responsibility to ensure that there is stability in Pakistan and that we do not allow British citizens to incite disorder and violence against our allies.”

Yasmin Quraishi wrote that Altaf Hussain, on August 22, incited his followers to attack media houses for “not covering his speeches and urged his supporters to “move” on two private television news stations to “get justice” and “immediately afterwards, two television stations and their satellite trucks were attacked, including with gunfire” and “one person was killed in the violence while police vehicles were also torched”.

Yasmin Quraishi told the Home Secretary and the Metropolitan Police chief that “this was not the first occasion where Mr Hussain has incited violence, murder and disorder”.

She gave reference of MQM founder’s speech on March 11, 2015 in which he talked about 1992 operation in Karachi.

She wrote that in an interview on March 11 on GEO News, Mr Hussain is seen to be threatening Pakistan Rangers who raided the offices of MQM in Karachi; on July 12, 2015, Mr Hussain issued direct threats to the law enforcement agencies in Pakistan.

Yasmin Qureshi referred to Altaf Hussain’s speech of July 2015 in which he had threatened Pakistan.

Yasmin Quraishi wrote that on July 16, 2015, Mr Hussain, addressing his followers in Karachi from London, directly threatened the Director General of the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) General Rizwan Akhtar and the Director General of Sindh Rangers Bilal Akbar.

Yasmin Quraishi added in her letter that on August 22, 2016, Mr Hussain incited his followers to attack three media groups Geo News, Samaa, ARY news.

Yasmin Quraishi told the Scotland Yard chief in her letter that she would like to meet him in person.