Imran Farooq murder suspects transferred to Islamabad

ISLAMABAD: Security forces on Friday transferred two men allegedly wanted in the murder case of Muttahida Qaumi Movement leader Dr Imran Farooq to Islamabad, a day after the suspects were arrested from the border town of Chaman.

Personnel of the Frontier Corps had taken the suspects – identified as Mohsin Ali and Khalid Shamim from Karachi – into custody when they crossed into Pakistan from Afghanistan the previous day.

An FC spokesman had said Thursday that they would hand over the two accused to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) for further interrogation.

The FC spokesman had initially claimed that the two men said they belonged to a Karachi-based political party.

But the interior ministry said today that it was premature to say anything about the political affiliation of the two suspects.

In a press statement issued here today, the interior ministry said that the inspector-general (IG) of the FC paramilitary force spokes to Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali and briefed him on the arrest.

The statement said that the evidence on record against the suspects is the one that the British authorities gave to Pakistan.

It added that the process of investigation would begin after completing all legal formalities.

Dr Farooq, a prominent member of the MQM was murdered in 2010 outside his residence in London as a result of multiple stabs and a blow to his head.

Dr Imran Farooq was twice elected a Member of Parliament in Pakistan, but went into hiding in 1992 when the government ordered a military crackdown against party activists in Karachi. He later claimed asylum in Britain in 1999.

The Metropolitan Police and Scotland Yard have previously said that they were in contact with Pakistani authorities over the interrogation of two suspects, allegedly in Pakistan’s custody