UK names two men in Pakistan leader’s murder
Police names Pakistani nationals in connection with killing of Muttahida Qaumi Movement leader Imran Farooq in London.
British detectives investigating the 2010 murder of Pakistani politician Imran Farooq in London have named two men they want to trace in connection with the killing.
Farooq, 50, a founding member of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), was stabbed and beaten to death in Edgware, northwest London, as he returned home from work on September 16, 2010.
The two men are both Pakistani nationals who left Britain in the hours after the murder, Scotland Yard police headquarters said in a statement on Tuesday.
Detectives said they were looking for 29-year-old Moshin Ali Syed and Muhammad Kashif Khan Kamran, 34, who lived in Stanmore, a suburb neighbouring Edgware, prior to the murder, police said.
“The men are known to have registered to study at a college in east London having entered the UK on student visas,” the statement said.
“Dr Farooq’s murder would have required careful planning and help from other people, some of whom may have provided assistance or information unwittingly,” they said.
“We are appealing to anyone who has not yet come forward but knew either man in Pakistan or during their time in the UK to contact the investigation team.
“The two men are believed to be in Pakistan at this time and officers continue to liaise with Pakistani authorities.”
Farooq claimed asylum in Britain in 1999. He was wanted in Pakistan over scores of charges, including torture and murder related to the MQM activities, but always claimed the accusations were politically motivated.
He had twice been elected an Member of Parliament in Pakistan but went into hiding in 1992 when the government ordered a military crackdown against party activists in the port city of Karachi.