RAWALPINDI: A main accused in former Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader Dr Imran Farooq’s murder on Thursday not only confessed to have abetted the assassins, but also alleged that MQM chief Altaf Hussain was behind the coldblooded murder.
“September 16 was chosen as the date for Farooq’s murder as it was meant to be a gift for Altaf Hussain on his birthday,” said Khalid Shamim in his confessional statement.
Shamim is believed by investigators to have planned the assassination and provided material support to the killers. Shamim claims he regrets his actions and has not made the confession under any form of duress.
He claimed that all the planning took place in MQM’s headquarter Nine-Zero. However, funding was an issue. He added that Altaf Hussain’s nephew Iftikhar Hussain gave him £25,000 to make travel arrangements.
The Federal Investigation Agency submitted the confessional statement in an anti-terrorism court in Islamabad on Thursday.
“After Imran Farooq’s murder, I asked Kashif Khan Kamran to immediately leave the country on the first available flight,” said the accused in his statement submitted in court.
Shamim also alleged that Muhammad Anwar had instructed workers in South Africa to stop the pair from reaching Pakistan.
The accused further added that Kashif, Mohsin and he had left the country for Afghanistan through the Chaman border crossing. After staying in Afghanistan for five years, Mohsin and he decided to return to the country while Kashif rejected the decision.
Last year, FIA arrested Khalid Shamim and Muazzam along with Mohsin Ali for their alleged role in the murder of Dr Imran Farooq.
Earlier this year, a video of Shamim emerged, who was being held at the Adiala Jail at that time, in which Shamim alleged that Altaf bhai was involved in the murder.
He had also told media that Altaf Hussain and Muhammad Anwar are British and Indian agents. Shamim had also said that British intelligence agency MI6 and India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) are supporting these leaders.
To a question regarding becoming an approver in the case, the accused had asserted that he is ready if the nation supports him.
Meanwhile, Shamim’s wife had told media that her husband’s condition is not okay.
On this, the suspect had insisted that he is fine, adding that he wanted to take the matter to international court. Shamim and Mohsin were detained by the Frontier Constabulary in June last year as they tried to enter Pakistan from Afghanistan.
Imran Farooq, 50, a founding member of the MQM, was stabbed and beaten to death in Edgware, northwest London in September 2010. He claimed asylum in Britain in 1999. He was wanted in Pakistan over scores of charges including torture and murder but always claimed the accusations were politically motivated.
He had twice been elected an MP in Pakistan, but went into hiding in 1992 when the government ordered a military crackdown against party activists in Karachi.
