Pakistan braced for violence over UKmurder

Imran Farooq – a leading member of the MQM (Muttahida Quami Movement) – was found with head injuries and stab wounds outside his home at 5.30pm on Thursday.

In Karachi, petrol stations, schools and markets were closed and public transport came to a halt amid fears of violence.

The MQM is said to be a relatively secular and socially liberal party and the largest in the coalition governing Karachi. As the fourth largest party it is an important member of the federal government in Islamabad. It has led rallies against al-Qaida terrorist acts.

However, it has also been accused of links to organised crime and hundreds of its supporters have been killed in the past 20 years in Karachi. Last month fellow MQM member Raza Haider was shot dead by four gunmen as he attended a funeral in Karachi.

The murder triggered violence in which dozens of people were killed and at least 100 wounded.

Azeem Tariq, the former chairman, was also murdered in Karachi 13 years ago.

The Metropolitan Police said they were called to reports of a serious assault in Green Lane, Edgware, north London.

A force spokesman said: “When officers arrived, they found an Asian male, aged 50, suffering from multiple stab wounds and head injuries.

“He was treated by paramedics at the scene but was pronounced dead at 18.37.”

There have been no arrests and a section of the road where the murder took place was cordoned off yesterday morning.

People living nearby expressed their shock. Philippa Hamilton, 51, a recruitment worker, said she had lived in the area all her life but added: “This sort of thing has never happened here before. It’s a real shock.”

Mrs Hamilton, who lives 200 yards away, said: “It’s definitely not the norm. It’s a quiet, leafy road. There are lots of families. It’s a very, very mixed community, all sorts of religions and nationalities, but everyone gets on very well.”

Gary Kramer, 42, who lives five doors down from the scene of the crime, said a neighbour had heard a scream at 5pm on Thursday.

He said: “We came outside to find out what was going on. Lots of neighbours came outside. One of the neighbours said she had heard a male scream at 5pm.

“She came down the stairs. She was the one who must have found him and called the police. She must have lived in one of the flats next to his.”

A statement on the MQM website said the party had declared a 10-day period of mourning.

According to reports on the site from 1999, Dr Farooq sought political asylum in the UK after a contract was taken out on his life. He denied being involved in criminal and terrorist activities.

In November 1992 Dr Farooq said he was wanted “dead or alive”. He was secretary general of the party at the time and spent more than seven years in hiding in Karachi.

He said: “It was impossible for me to remain in Pakistan due to the continued threat on my life and liberty.”

The MQM’s leader, Altaf Hussain, lives in self-imposed exile in London, but still addresses large gatherings in Karachi by telephone. He also left Pakistan in 1992, after being accused of criminal activities.

Mr Hussain recently appeared to suggest that the country’s army should rise up against the civilian government.

His comments angered his party’s federal coalition partners, including the ruling Pakistan People’s Party of President Asif Ali Zardari.

Raza Haroon, a member of the MQM central co-ordination committee, said Dr Farooq’s family had been left in shock.

He said his wife and two young sons, who live just a short distance from the scene of murder, spent several hours speaking with detectives last night.