MQM founder cross-examined in £10m battle of properties

LONDON: The MQM founder Altaf Hussain clashed with MQM-Pakistan’s lawyer before the UK High Court over the issue of who really was incharge of the MQM, which MQM faction was the real one and who owns the London properties worth over £10 million.

Appearing in the witness box to face grilling by the MQM-Pakistan lawyer Barrister Nazar Muhammad, Altaf Hussain defended his actions as the MQM’s supreme leader and told the court that the fact was that the MQM revolved his ultimate decisions and he called the shots, with consultations from his colleagues in the Rabita Committee – the party body that looked up to Hussain in London for the final approvals and ratifications.

Altaf Hussain told the court under cross-examination that he was the supreme leader of the party and he didn’t get involved in nitty-gritty of the party, but it was an accepted reality that the whole party worked towards his interests and vision and therefore the MQM-Pakistan was a breakaway group, made under state crackdown in order to break the main party and to sideline the London-based leader through unnatural means.

Altaf Hussain conceded that he had handed over powers to Dr Farooq Sattar after his 16 August 2016 speech and mandated him to take decisions in the wider interests. He, under examination, said that no new party was formed after 31st August 2016 amendments but he said the following actions by Dr Farooq Sattar and others in the party were a betrayal of the way the party was run.

Altaf Hussain spoke about the killings of his workers, state actions against his workers, killings of his family members and extrajudicial torture but the judge reminded that he was looking at the party’s constitution only and the dispute over the ownership of the London assets.

He told the court that it was Azeem Tariq who was made chairman of the MQM but it was him who founded the party and remains its leader till today, in the same power and position.