MQM responds

This refers to the article ‘A complex of cases’ (January 21) by Owen Bennett-Jones. In our opinion, the article represents yet another example of the writer pursuing his unilateral agenda. The article contains a number of factual errors and attempts to deliberately misguide the reader through the juxtaposition of unrelated issues. At no point was the MQM asked for an opinion or the opportunity to respond to the allegations put forward in this article. The areas of dispute are: First, the assertions of fact contained in this article are based on supposition. No one has been charged with any offence under this investigation, which has lasted for over four years. In addition, the fact that after all these years neither MQM chief Altaf Hussain nor anyone else has been charged speaks for itself and strongly suggests that there is insufficient evidence for the case to be brought to court. The article further states that “there are also possible tax cases but they are a matter for the revenue authorities, not the police”. This is also completely untrue. There are no ‘tax cases’ underway involving the MQM’s operations in London. The writer asserted that “given the acute political sensitivities in Karachi, the British police would not have arrested Altaf Hussain for money laundering unless they were sure they could convince the Crown Prosecution Service that there was enough evidence for charges and a trial”. This is wrong and does not take account of British law. The police are entitled to, and do, arrest people if they have reasonable suspicion of wrongdoings. The legal test for whether or not someone should be prosecuted is much higher than that of ‘reasonable suspicion’. It is therefore misleading for the writer to imply that there is a strong case against Hussain or any other member of the MQM.
Second, the article states: “The UK police are pressing for the release of two suspects – Mohsin Ali Syed and Muhammed Kashif Khan Kamran – who are currently thought to be in ISI custody.” The party would like to make clear that these individuals are not, nor have they ever been, members of the party – a clear inference of this article. The article later suggests that “the British state is doing much less business with the MQM than it used to”. To clarify, the MQM has always maintained a position of open dialogue with British parliamentarians and their representatives. Meetings between MQM personnel, British parliamentarians, diplomatic representatives and MEPs have all taken place in recent months. This is hardly an example of fair or balanced reporting. In sum, the content of this article is, in the party’s opinion, misguiding for the reader and littered with factual inaccuracy. We request that this article is immediately removed from The News website and that a correction of factual matters is published in its place.
Qamar Mansoor
In charge of Central Coordination Committee
MQM Pakistan