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

LONDON: Yasmin Qureshi, Labour parliamentarian for Bolton West, has called on British Home Secretary Amber Rudd to investigate why Scotland Yard has shown reluctance to take action against the London-based Muttahida Qaumi Movement chief Altaf Hussain 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 Altaf Hussain in the last few months, including the speech of 22nd August speech 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 that she 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”. 

Qureshi, who worked as a criminal law barrister before becoming the Labour MP, told the home secretary that she worked formerly as a Crown Prosecutor and “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 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.”