Dr Imran Farooq’s wife, kids living in misery, poverty

LONDON: Leader of the newly formed Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM-Imran Farooq Shaheed) have called on the Federal and Sindh governments to announce help for the London-based widow of Dr Imran Farooq and her two children.
Naim Ahmed, a former senior MQM leader from Karachi who now heads a small faction called MQM-Imran Farooq Shaheed, said that Pakistan’s federal and provincial governments have announced awards and compensations for dozens of political leaders and counter-terrorism officials who have been killed in the last few years but the wife and children of Dr Imran Farooq, one of the senior most Pakistani political activists, have been left on their own by the Pakistani governments.
Dr Imran Farooq was killed on 16th September 2010 outside his home in Edgware by assassins who, according to Scotland Yard, are in the custody of Pakistani police.
Dr Imran Farooq’s widow Shumaila Imran Farooq and her two children Alishah and Wejdan live on their own in a rough area of Ealing, relying on a small amount of monthly benefits from the state. Since the death of her husband, she has not received any government level support. She was unable to get even a penny from the sale of her husband’s small grocery shop business near Old Street in central London.
Naim Ahmed appealed to Nawaz Sharif to take notice of her situation and contact her through Pakistan’s High Commission in London or the UK government channels. “She deserves support. Why is the whole of Pakistan silent on her case? Why have the government of Pakistan not bothered to know whether she is alive or dead. Her husband was a renowned patriotic Pakistani campaigner who wanted to change Pakistan for better and sacrificed his life for Pakistan.
He deserves national recognition and arrangements should be made for the quality education of Dr Farooq’s two sons,” demanded Naim Ahmed.
For Dr Imran Farooq’s wife, everyday is a struggle and challenge that very few women go through in the absence of any family or financial support network. The News has learnt from a reliable source that Shumaila Farooq, a former provincial assembly member for Sindh, lives in a tiny 2 bedroom apartment in an area near Ealing, West London.
The flat is owned by the local council and while living on handouts the family has no means of income to meet the expensive living costs in London. Dr Imran Farooq’s sons and wife, who according to a source, are still treated by the doctors for trauma, go to a state school. According to a source, she has been twice moved to council-owned properties and the one where she lives now is in a wretched state.
Only at a stone throw, dozens of rich kids of Pakistani parents, including from political families linked with the MQM, PML-N and the PPP, attend prestigious private schools. The annual fees and expenditure per pupil in these schools is upward of £30,000 a year. Dr Imran Farooq’s widow cannot think of paying a tiny fraction of that amount and neither the MQM nor anyone from the government of Pakistan has offered to buy her a flat or set up a fund for the education of her children.
Dr Imran Farooq worked as a politician and campaigner for over 40 years and was amongst the founders of the MQM. He was at the heart of all the battles that the MQM leader and founder Altaf Hussain fought in Karachi. To his credit, Dr Imran Farooq didn’t compromise with the military regime of that time and continued to support Altaf Hussain-aligned faction of the MQM even from the underground until he reached London and continued working for the MQM until he was sidelined a few years before his death.
Imran Khan announced last week that he has set up a trust fund for Aitzaz Hassan’s family and condemned his own KP govt on this issue. The KP govt then announced it would give Rs5 million to Aitizaz Hassan’s family. Hassan, a student from Hangu, tackled a bomber on January 6 who had come to attack his school at a time when hundreds of students were inside.
The KP government also announced that the name of Hassan’s school would be changed to Shaheed Aitizaz Hasan Government High School from Government High School Ibrahimzai.
Separately, for Chaudhry Aslam’s family, awards and compensations have been announced by the provincial and federal governments, honouring their sacrifice. The chief minister has also announced the compensation of Rs2 million for the heirs of other martyrs of this incident and Rs0.1 million for each injured cop in Karachi who were accompanying.