LONDON: Altaf Hussain, the chief of Pakistan’s Muttahida Qaumi movement (MQM), has been arrested at his home in London, officials at his office said.
The London Metropolitan police confirmed that a 60-year-old man had been arrested from a North-West London property on charges of money-laundering, but they declined to disclose the exact identity for “legal reasons”.
The police said a Specialist Operations unit was currently carrying out a search operation at the property in northwest London.
Altaf Hussain who has been living in self imposed exile in UK since 1991, is the chief of Karachi’s most powerful political party, the MQM. He effectively runs the Pakistani mega-city by remote control from his home 4,000 miles away.
The MQM represents the interests of Pakistan’s Muhajirs, the Urdu-speaking descendants of Muslims who moved from India to Pakistan during partition in 1947.
Police in Karachi, Pakistan’s commercial capital, have been put on alert amid reports of violence.
The British and Pakistan authorities have in the past expressed concerns that any arrest of Altaf Hussain could lead to violent protests in Karachi.
Traffic jams were reported in Karachi and other cities in Sindh province as businesses closed and people headed home fearing violence.
Moreover, a spokesman for the British High Commission said that the UK’s consulate in Karachi has been temporarily closed down.
We deployed extra security at the British High Commission in the southern part of Karachi as soon we learnt about Altaf Hussain’s arrest in London through media, Deputy Inspector General Abdul Khalique Shaikh told reporters.
We have increased police patrolling and we are making further deployments at sensitive spots in the city, he added.
Large number of Hussains supporters have gathered outside the partys headquarters, Nine Zero, chanting slogans in his favour.
They said they would continue protesting until Hussain was freed.
.Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said that the issue of Hussains arrest was of an extremely sensitive nature, adding that the government would take all legal angles into account.
The premier has directed parliamentarians and members of the PML-N not to comment on the news. The city has been wracked by violence – much of it politically motivated.
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