Iftikhar Hussain held in Imran Farooq murder case – The Express Tribune
Iftikhar Hussain held in Imran Farooq murder case
Iftikhar Hussain, 52, is said to be a close relative of a top Pakistani politician.
LAHORE: British authorities have contacted their Pakistani counterparts in connection with the arrest in London on Monday of a suspect in Imran Farooq murder case, seeking permission to investigate some suspects in Pakistan as well.
British police investigating the 2010 murder of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader said on Monday that they had arrested a man in connection with the case after he arrived in the city on a flight from Canada.
Counter-terrorism detectives arrested the 52-year-old man, identified as Iftikhar Hussain, at Heathrow Airport in the morning and took him to the West London police station, revealed a police statement.
The detainee, sources familiar with the developments alleged, is a close relative of a top Pakistan politician.
The suspect was reached through forensic investigations using evidence gathered by security officials.
Scotland Yard, headquarters for London’s Metropolitan Police Service, has sought the Call Detail Record (CDR) including text messages of the detained suspect. Sources also say that police had warned other suspects to stay put in the city till investigation was complete.
Additionally, London authorities have enhanced suspects’ surveillance.
Coordinating across seas
The UK authorities contacted the Pakistani government shortly after Hussain’s arrest. Murder suspects in Pakistan are likely to be investigated in connection with the murder of Dr Imran Farooq, particularly after revelations by the freshly detained suspect, sources further state.
Around 3,000 people have been interviewed by Scotland Yard officials in the past 2 years as part of their investigations of the murder
Prior to Hussain’s arrest, two houses in the custody of Muttahida Qaumi Movement activists were searched for evidence by the police. One house was owned by the MQM chief Altaf Hussain, while the other was owned by a man named Akhtar.
Farooq, 50, was a former leader of MQM and had lived in London in self-imposed exile from 1999.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 25th, 2013.
