Last Words Of Imran Farooq About Altaf Hussain ڈاکٹر عمران فاروق کی جرنلسٹ سے بات
These are the last words of Dr Imran Farooq to a journalist who met him just 3 weeks before his Murder.
The person is Geo and Jang London Correspondent Murtaza Ali Shah.
I don't want to say any other thing but these words are slap on the face of the people who are trying to make this murder controversial.
LONDON: The residents of a middle class but multicultural suburban area of London were as much shocked as the people of Pakistan after the tragic murder of the Muttahida Qaumi Movements Dr Imran Farooq here on the early evening of Thursday.
As the news spread like a jungles fire, the MQM declared mourning for 10 days across Pakistan and Karachi, the city which Dr Imran left in 1999 to come to live in the sanctuary of London, became tense instantly. In London, police confirmed to The News on Thursday in a statement that a murder inquiry had begun after a death in Edgware.
Police were called to Green Lane, Edgware, shortly before 17:30 hrs following reports of a serious assault. A man aged 50 suffering serious stab wound and head injuries was treated by paramedics but was pronounced dead at the scene. Next of kin have been informed but we await formal identification. A post mortem examination will be scheduled in due course. Detectives from the homicide and serious crime ommand are investigating. An incident room will open later today (Thursday), said the police.
Dr Imran Farooq claimed political asylum in the UK after he was sought dead or alive by security forces in Pakistan. He always maintained that the charges of criminal and terrorist activity were politically motivated and there was never any truth in them.
In London, where the MQM International Secretariat is based, nearly a dozen members of the powerful Rabita Committee held its session after the shock news was broken to the secretariat by the Scotland Yard.
MQM chief Altaf Hussain arrived at the party headquarters shortly after the paramedics declared that Dr Imran Farooq had succumbed to very serious stab wounds on his neck and head.
The MQM leader, who was set to celebrate his 57th birthday but cancelled the celebrations after hearing the tragic news, sobbed and cried. As tears rolled down his cheeks, amid sobs he remembered those times when Dr Imran was one of those few comrades who stood by him as the party faced the full might of the state.
He told The News: Imran was like my child. He was my own. His martyrdom has struck us all in the most tragic way. He is a revolutionary martyr. This is the biggest shock of my life. I am shaken to my very foundations that this could happen to someone I literally brought up in the party tradition has lost his life in this manner. When he managed to arrive London safely, I celebrated our reunion but now he has been taken away from me.
Altaf Hussain refused to speculate or discuss the theory behind the murder and appealed to the Scotland Yard to do everything to unearth the real culprit(s), who killed the mild-mannered and highly educated Dr Imran in a busy street, only at about five minutes distance from the partys international headquarters.
The MQM chief urged the party workers to remain calm and wait for the final outcome of the police investigation, which was looking at multiple angles to nail the true trail of the high-profile murder.
At least, seven streets are around the murder spot, believed to be just outside Dr Imrans two-bedroom flat. The police cordon had affected at least over 100 houses and not less than 10 exit points from the murder scene.
A police official at the local station, which managed the initial response after the crime was reported, told The News: This is an extraordinary murder carried out in a well-organised manner. We are involved in a very complex investigation and looking at various theories.
Residents at the streets where the killing took place told The News on Thursday they were shocked at what had happened at their quiet street. Alexa Curion, a local nurse, said she had lived on the street for more than 30 years and found the street and the area generally to be very nice and relatively crime free. I am shocked. I never knew who this Pakistani politician was who lived a few doors away from mine but I am saddened that he has been killed, she said.
Andrew Hitchins, a local campaigner on equality issues, said he was aware that a major Pakistani political party had its headquarters nearby and its members lived around the street of the crime but found all of them like other peaceful citizens going about their daily routine.
This scribe met the deceased MQM leader at various MQM functions in its international secretariat. He was in attendance at the last years APMSO annual function with his wife and children. He mingled with other members and leaders of the party.
Roughly three weeks ago, this scribe came across Dr Imran at a local shopping mall and exchanged views about Pakistans situation for about five minutes. He told The News then he was spending a lot of time reading books and enjoying indoor sports.
He had also said that it was not correct that he was not on the same page as the rest of the party.
I can tell you Altaf Hussain still consults me on various issues and I admire his leadership. I have always done that and will always remain committed to the philosophy he taught us. Lets not care much about what media says a lot of times, he said in a very light mood and went off for shopping.
Who could have known then the man who remained an idealist and optimist will be butchered on a street in the most vicious manner thousands of miles away from the homeland he grew up in and played a huge part in shaping its political history.