MQM got Indian funds, military training, claims BBC quoting Pak officials

LONDON: The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has claimed in a report quoting Pakistani officials that two senior officials of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) in formal recorded interviews had told Scotland Yard they had “received funds from the Indian government”.
The report by Owen Benett-Jones claimed the BBC was informed by a Pakistani official that over the last 10 years, hundreds of MQM militants had been trained by India in “explosives, weapons and sabotage”. The training took place in camps in north and north-east India, according to the BBC.
According to the report, prior to 2005-06 training was provided to mid-ranking MQM members, while in recent years it was also provided to junior party members.When the BBC asked the Indian government about the MQM members being trained in India, it termed the charge ‘completely baseless’ while the MQM refused to comment.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan is interviewed in the report and he says the MQM has evolved into a mafia. “There is a political side to the MQM which is now shrinking and there is a militant side to the MQM. That militant wing is controlled by Altaf Hussain sitting in London”.
Khan said most Pakistanis would be shocked about the allegations of Indian funding, “however on occasions you get the impression that he is being controlled from the outside”.
The BBC report also mentions senior Karachi police officer Rao Anwar’s claim that two arrested members of the MQM had confessed to being trained in India.
A Pakistani official told the BBC that India had trained hundreds of MQM militants over the last 10 years. The Indian authorities described the claims as “completely baseless” but the MQM didn’t provide any comment to the BBC. However, its leaders Barrister Saif and Wasay Jalil said the allegations were not new and if there was any proof, the case should be taken to court.
MQM’s senior leader Muhammad Anwar said that “the claim by the BBC that MQM made no comment in response to its question is incredulous “claim by the BBC that MQM made no comment in response to its question is incredulous because MQM sent a detailed email to the BBC.
The claims follow the statement of a senior Karachi police officer that two arrested MQM militants said they had been trained in India, said the BBC.
The News understands that list of explosives was found during a raid on the house of a senior MQM leader in June 2013 in North West London. The police found around £500,000 ($787,350) in the MQM’s London offices and in the home of MQM leader Altaf Hussain. In the course of the inquiries, said the BBC, the UK authorities found a list itemising weapons, including mortars, grenades and bomb-making equipment in an MQM property.
An investigation by The News – released first on Geo’s popular Aaaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Saath - shows that around a dozen payments were made into MQM related accounts in the UK through RAC Bank Dubai. These payments were made in 2012 and 2013 amounting to less than £1 million. These amounts were sent from the Dubai account of three Indians and their business concern Jasmin Valley – into the MQM linked accounts, including a private account as well as into Euro Property PVT Ltd, Euro Property Development Ltd, Euro Development, and Euro Property Canada. All payments except one were made into the UK accounts of the MQM. Scotland Yard investigators have all these statements in its possessions.
‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada kay Saath’ show revealed that these payments were made in 2012 and 2013 but some of the dates are 22-10-2012, 21-11-2012, 07-01-2013, and 19 February 2013.
It was also revealed on the same show that the list of explosives was found from Altaf Hussain’s house during a raid. The police stayed inside the house for 3 days and took away a lot of material including papers and evidence. This correspondent is aware that a hand written list is of particular interest to the police which shows that around $27,000 have been paid of the total amount of $63,000. The payments were made in Indian rupee and the exchange rate of the US dollars and the Indian rupee then was 61 rupee. Amongst other things, the list confirms the purchase of following weapons supposedly for use in Karachi: 50 AK 47 rifles; a dozen RPGs, half a dozen sniper rifles; 60 hand grenades; 20 pistols; 5 mortars and some “bomb making equipment”.
Meanwhile, MQM senior leader Wasay Jalil said that the BBC report was merely a table story, and they had been witnessing such confession since 1992.
He said that BBC story was just like propaganda against MQM. Jalil heavily criticised the BBC report terming it another table story.
“We have heard about OBJ which brought out another table story on MQM. He is just like a Pakistani Ummat Paper on MQM only,” Jalil said in his latest tweet.
He said that MQM had seen such confessions since 1992 and this report was nothing new for them.
Earlier, the revelation came up during investigation of UK authoritative from MQM officials for alleged money laundering. UK authorities told that a list of weapons was also found in an MQM property.
Shamim Bano from Karachi adds: MQM strongly refuted the allegations made in a BBC report that MQM had been receiving funding from Indian authorities.
In its website statement they said that MQM was a patriotic political party which believed in country’s unity and integrity.
It said that in the past too it had been targeted and media trial continued against it, terming it to malign MQM’s popularity, the statement said.
MQM was also blamed in the past for Jinnahpur state which later was proved wrong, it said.
The MQM official webiste says that conspiracy is always been hatched against the party and it always happened with a popular party and they were not in worry.
In a statement, the MQM Coordination Committee said that the allegations leveled against the MQM were not new. “MQM was accused of the Jinnahpur Conspiracy in the past and a host of other allegations to blemish its image. All these allegations proved false in the fullness of time.”
“It was alleged that Nato weapons were recovered from an MQM office but it was denied by the US State Department and the Nato. In the same manner, India had also rejected having any connection with the MQM but some anti-MQM elements were bent on carrying out media trial of the MQM by repeating the allegation again and again.”
The Coordination Committee said that the reporter had broadcast several reports against the MQM in the past. Opponents of MQM used these reports as a tool for scoring political gains and media trial of the MQM. The new report by the same reporter was a part of the media trial that had been going against the MQM for many years.
The Coordination Committee said, “We categorically reject all the allegations leveled in this report. We believe that this report is aimed at tarnishing the image of the MQM in Pakistan and throughout the world.”
The Coordination Committee said, “It is pertinent to note that BBC is a British institution and the allegations made in the report apparently relate to the investigation that is undergoing in Britain. Interestingly all the allegations in the report are made on the strength of a Pakistani source that should be sufficient to explain the reality of these claims.
The Coordination Committee said it was also worthwhile to note that the reporter who had prepared the report was neither a BBC correspondent nor an employee of the BBC. He was a freelance journalist who had published and broadcast several news reports against the MQM in the past. This freelance reporter had not reported on several important events having the national and international significance that had occurred in Pakistan in the past a few years. He had only been reporting against the MQM on television and newspapers.
The Coordination Committee said it was unfortunate that allegations of enmity to country and treason had been levelled against political opponents since the creation of Pakistan. Fatima Jinnah was also termed an Indian agent while NAP was banned after declaring it an enemy of the country and agent of foreign powers.
APP adds: Minister for Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage Senator Pervaiz Rashid said that the government was examining the BBC report regarding the MQM.
Talking to a news channel, the minister said that the government would decide about the future course of action after thoroughly examining the BBC report.
He said that the Foreign Office was also examining the report.It was the responsibility of the government to look into the issues which had been highlighted in the report, he added.