Dr Imran Farooq Murder Case, Police arrests a Pakistani origin British at Heathrow Airport

 

Dr Imran Farooq with MQM Leader Altaf Hussain (File Pic)

London: British Police has arrested a man from Pakistani origin on his arrival from Canada at Heathrow airport, a first of its kind after three years since Dr Imran Farooq was murdered. 

"Officers arrested the 52-year-old man at Heathrow Airport at approx 1010hrs (BST) this morning after landing at the airport on a flight from Canada," the Metropolitan Police said here.

"Counter Terrorism officers investigating the murder of Imran Farooq have today arrested a man on suspicion of conspiracy to murder," the police statement added.

MQM Leader Mourns the Murder of Dr Imran Farooq

Dr Imran Farooq, a defective from his former party MQM, aged 50, was on his way home from work when he was attacked outside his home at Green Lane in north London's Edgware area on September 16, 2010. 

A postmortem gave his cause of death as multiple stab wounds and blunt trauma to the head. A five-and-a-half inch bladed kitchen knife and a house brick used in the attack were recovered at the scene. 

"Detectives from the Met police counter-terrorism command remain committed to finding those responsible. They believe his murder would have required careful planning and would have required help from other people, some of whom may have provided assistance or information unwittingly," the Met said in its statement.

Dr Imran Farooq had been living in London in self-imposed exile since 1999. 

Supposed Murderer of Dr Imran Farooq

A reward of up to 20,000 pounds has been offered for anyone providing information leading to the identification, arrest, and prosecution of those responsible for the politician's murder.

"We understand that people may have concerns in speaking to the police and would like to offer reassurance that information will be dealt with sensitively," the Met has said.

Met police officers had searched two residential properties in London as part of their investigation into the murder one of which has said to be of MQM leader Altaf Hussain and confiscated several documents. 

People in Pakistan speculate a connection between his former party MQM and his murder as he was planning to form a new party in Pakistan in rival ship with Altaf Hussain's MQM.