UK lets down Pakistan by dropping case against Altaf: Nisar

LONDON: Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan has said that Pakistan feels let down by Britain’s decision to drop money-laundering case against the MQM-London chief Altaf Hussain and five others.

The cases involves cash seizure of over half a million Pounds from Altaf Hussain’s properties and bank transactions involving millions of Pounds.

After The News published The News quoting Scotland Yard that the money-laundeirng case was dropped after having examined all evidence and reaching to the conclusion that there was insufficient evidence to prosecute Altaf Hussain, Chaudhary Nisar spoke to this correspondent to set Pakistan’s version straight. Scotland Yard had sad that it had “credible evidence” that the MQM received funding from the Indian government sources and broke UK and Pakistan’s electoral laws.

Well-known for his robust, frank and honest views, Chaudhary Nisar stressed that Pakistan had gone out of its way to cooperate with the ScotlandYard’s detectives who were investigating the money-laundering case and made many visits to Pakistan seeking Pakistan’s cooperation. Chaudhary Nisar Ali Khan said that Pakistan gave access to the Scotland Yard to the evidence and individuals in the manner the UK investigators wanted and ever effort was made to ensure that the UK gets what it wants from Pakistan.

He shared to suggest that Pakistan failed to cooperate in any respect in this or any other cause of legal assistance is preposterous and offensive. The Interior Minister said that Pakistan’s help has been appreciated by the British authorities at several levels and repeatedly.  

It’s pertinent to mention here that senior Scotland Yard officials praised Chaudhary Nisar on many occasions for helping the police investigation to the satisfaction of the investigators. A top investigator had told this reporter that Pakistani authorities under the PPP government, when Rehman Malik was the Interior Minister, didn’t help the UK authorities either in the murder case of Dr Imran Farooq or the money-laundering investigation but that changed when Chaudhary Nisar took reigns of the Interior Ministry.

Chaudhary Nisar, when asked by this correspondent, agreed that the UK wasn’t getting the requisite help during the PPP government and as soon as PMLN came into power in 2013, he personally ensured that every help is offered to the UK to ensure that justice is done, be it the case of Dr Imran Farooq, hate speech probe and money-laundering inquiry. “This kind - and level - of cooperation was never available to the UK prior to i assumed the Interior Ministry charge. It’s a matter of fact and it has been acknowledged independently.”

When asked if it was true that he had protested the police decision to close the money-laundering probe at the highest level with the UK authorities, Chauhdary Nisar said that it was his right to make his views known to the UK channels and correctly inform the UK as to what the government and public thinks of the UK’s decision to drop the money-laundering case. “I have raised this concern in our meetings with our counterparts and this is not the end of the matter. We will continue to raise our concerns. We have questions to ask and there are unanswered questions. The fact that a high-profile money-laundering case involving cash of over £500,000 was dropped suddenly, without any further, action raises lots of questions and doubts and the official version stating that there was ‘insufficient evidence’ is perplexing. I understand that the Scotland Yard has around 16 tera bites of files on Altaf Hussain related money-laundering case. UK and Pakistan are allies and close friends. Its time for the UK to reciprocate and hand over evidence, that the UK has on the MQM leader, to assist us in our probe into the same.”

Nisar said that Pakistan would like the UK to cooperate with its investigation into MQM’s money-laundering investigation and hand over the evidence that it has on the MQM leader and others. It’s understood that that the police here has documents of over 16 tera bites in relation to the probe that it conducted.

Chaudhary Nisar said that the end of investigation has raised legitimate questions on the British justice system because there are instances when suspects with just £5,000 cash were prosecuted on money-laundering suspicions. “To drop a case in which £500,000 was found in cash, besides other evidence, and then say there was insufficient evidence is strange”.

Chauhdary Nisar said about the latest letter written to the Scotland Yard requesting re-opening of the investigation: