Met Police arrests MQM founder Altaf Hussain

LONDON: Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) founder Altaf Hussain was arrested by Scotland Yard in an early morning raid on Tuesday in relation to an investigation in an incendiary speech in 2016.

He was taken to the Southwark Police Station where he was in detention at the time of the filing of this report. Fifteen officers took part in a dawn raid at his north London home. The details of Hussain’s arrest were reported in an exclusive transmission on Geo News.

Hussain has been arrested in relation to a speech in 2016 in which he allegedly called on his followers to take the law into their own hands.

MQM sources have confirmed that Hussain was arrested. Hussain’s spokesman Qasim Raza confirmed to BBC Urdu that he had been taken in for questioning. In a statement, Scotland Yard said an individual associated with the MQM had been arrested on suspicion of intentionally encouraging or assisting offences contrary to Section 44 of the Serious Crime Act 2007. Section 44 relates to intentionally encouraging or assisting an offence. A forensic unit of Scotland Yard was searching the residence of Hussain and the MQM’s International Secretariat. In 2017, Scotland Yard had sent a letter under Mutual Legal Assistance to Pakistan in relation to two speeches made by the MQM founder on March 11, 2015 and August 22, 2016. Both the Crown Prosecution Service and Metropolitan Police Services had confirmed to Geo News a criminal investigation had been started against Altaf Hussain.

Scotland Yard would not name Hussain, but in their statement, they said he was detained under PACE and taken to a south London police station, where he currently remains in custody.

As part of the investigation, officers were carrying out a search at the north-west London address. Detectives were also searching a separate commercial address in north-west London.The investigation, which is being led by officers from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, is focused on a speech broadcast in August 2016 by an individual associated with the MQM movement in Pakistan as well as other speeches previously broadcast by the same person, the statement said. Throughout the investigation, officers have been liaising with Pakistani authorities in relation to their ongoing enquiries. From his self-imposed exile in London, Hussain has been addressing crowds of supporters in Pakistan via telephone. Hussain has always maintained his innocence.