A former leader of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), Muhammad Anwar, has admitted that the political party had received funding from the Indian government.
In an interview with a private news channel, the MQM’s former head of diplomatic wing and member of the Rabita Committee claimed that the party leadership had asked him to coordinate with Indian contacts to receive the funding.
Anwar alleged that Nadeem Nusrat had introduced him to an Indian diplomat in the early 90s. Nusrat, MQM’s former Rabita Committee member, now lives in Washington and runs his own organisation.
He also said that the MQM-Pakistan leaders were projecting themselves today as holier than thou but the Karachi-based leadership was responsible for large-scale killings and destruction in the city.
“The so-called civilized leaders that you see on TV these days were the ones who were always offering to Altaf Hussain to inform them who to maim, kill and burn. I am ready to share details with authorities about their deeds. Over the years, they have blamed me only to launder themselves as clean guys. That’s not the case,” he said.
Last week, Anwar was declared an absconder, with Altaf Hussain and Iftikhar Hussain, in the Dr Imran Farooq murder case by an anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Islamabad.
Anwar blamed former Sindh governor Ishratul Ibad for spinning theories about his role in Dr Farooq’s killing. He added that Ibad told him that Britain’s spy agency, MI6, has shared with him two pictures showing Anwar with the two assassins of Dr Farooq.
“I asked Ibad many times to send me pictures but he never did and then I had to take a tough stance. Altaf Hussain asked Tariq Mir to visit Karachi, meet the governor and bring the two pictures. Tariq Mir came back with two tiny photo-shopped pictures made in a studio. I laughed seeing at those pictures.”
Anwar said he had fully cooperated with Scotland Yard in their investigation and the police had never shared with him anything suggesting his link of any kind with the killing. “If there was anything the police would have presented that before me as incriminating evidence but I have seen nothing and the police have mentioned nothing.”
Anwar said that Altaf had suspended Dr Imran Farooq to embarrass and humiliate him. “I respected him a lot. We had disagreements over policy matters and I always stood by merit in the party.”
He said Dr Imran Farooq was consistent in his political beliefs and didn’t like U-turns and policy somersaults made by the party founder.
Anwar offered that he would cooperate with the authorities in the UK and Pakistan if needed to establish facts. He warned that he would spill more beans on MQM if anyone tried to malign him.
