LONDON: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s former head of diplomatic wing and Coordination member Muhammad Anwar has revealed that the MQM has been receiving funds from the Indian government and he was asked by the party leadership to coordinate with Indian contacts to urge the funding.
In an exclusive interview with The News and Geo at his range in Edgware, the MQM stalwart denied having anything to try to to with the murder of Dr. Imran Farooq and revealed that it had been Nadeem Nusrat who introduced him to an Indian diplomat in early 90’s. Nusrat, MQM’s former Coordination member, now lives in Washington and runs his organization.
Speculations have also existed that the MQM received monies from India’s spy agency RAW but this is often for the primary time that a former senior office-bearer like Anwar has officially accused MQMof being involved India’s spy agency over a while.
Anwar revealed: “It was sometime within the early ’90s when Nadeem Nusrat came to me and told me that he would really like me to satisfy an Indian diplomat. He asked me to satisfy the Indian diplomat alone but I refused and told him that he should accompany too. it had been at 7 o punch in the evening and it had been raining heavily that day. Nadeem Nusrat, on my insistence, went with me to the meeting but stood outside the venue.”
Anwar said he told the Indian diplomat that he will discuss issues with him only within the presence of his senior, Nusrat. The Indian diplomat told Anwar he had instructions only to talk to him and to not anyone else. “I told him that I will be able to not speak to him on my very own. After making a call to someone and after about half an hour’s argument, he received permission, then Nadeem Nusrat joined us too. this is often how I got connected.”
Anwar said that it had been never his decision to satisfy Indian diplomats and affect them. “I confirm that I used to be obeying the orders of the party. I used to be asked to try what I did and that I was connected by MQM with the Indian contacts. I never had any vested interests. We were towing the party line on India.”
Anwar said that his colleagues in MQM – Pakistan and UK created a nasty impression about him, projected him because the only person whereas the truth is that each person within the leadership position shared responsibilities and every one decisions were taken in consultations with one another.
He said that the MQM-Pakistan leaders were projecting themselves today as holier than thou but he said that the Karachi based leadership was liable for large-scale killings and destructions within the city. “The so-called civilized leaders that you simply see on TV lately were those who were always offering to Altaf Hussain to tell them who to maim, kill, and burn. I'm able to share details with authorities about their deeds. Over the years, they need to blame me only to launder themselves as clean guys. That’s not the case.”
Last week, Anwar was named as an absconder, with Altaf Hussain and Iftikhar Hussain, in the Dr. Imran Farooq murder case by Islamabad’s Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC).
He told this correspondent that the judgment quotes Kahlid Shamim as saying that in 2005 he called Imran Farooq from Dublin and spoke to both folks over the speaker and within the same conversation I allegedly asked him to kill Dr. Imran Farooq.
“It’s ridiculous to mention that I used to be planning Doctor Farooq’s killing on his face during a conversation Doctor Farooq was taking note of standing with me. is that this believable? this is often a Romeo and Juliet story. this is often baseless, with none substance.”
Anwar said he has never met Shamim in is life and never had any relation with him of any kind. How is it possible that I planned the assassination of my senior in his presence, with a stranger on the phone thousands of miles away, asked Anwar.
Anwar blamed Governor Ishrat-ul-Ebaad, the previous Sindh Governor, for spinning dark theories about his role within the killing. Anwar shared that the previous Sindh governor told him that Britain’s spy agency, MI6, has shared with him two pictures showing him with two assassins of Dr. Farooq.
Anwar said: “I asked Ebaad repeatedly to send me pictures but he never did then I had to require a troublesome stance. Altaf Hussain asked Tariq Mir to go to Karachi, meet the governor, and convey the 2 pictures. Tariq Mir came back with two tiny photo-shopped pictures made during a studio. I laughed seeing at those pictures.”
Anwar said he had fully cooperated with Scotland Yard in their investigation and therefore 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 even have seen nothing and therefore the police have mentioned nothing.”
He said that Ishrat Ebaad should even be made a part of the investigation and questions should be asked of him also on who was passing him false information and what information did he have. Anwar said that police had raided his house and took all his belongings including laptops of his college-going children but found nothing. "I am saying unequivocally and vociferously that I'm not involved,” he said.
Anwar said that Altaf suspended Dr. Imran Farooq to embarrass and humiliate him. “I respected him tons. We had disagreements over policy matters and that I always stood by merit within the party.”
He said Dr. Imran Farooq was consistent in his politics and didn’t like U-turns and policy somersaults made by the party founder.
Anwar said that MQM has never been against Pakistan. Anwar recalled that marshal Ayub Khan gave his father Tamgha-e-Khidmat in 1967 for his services to the state of Pakistan. In 1971, Anwar said, his father in 1971 did food provision add North Bengal on General Niazi’s request because all provisions were stopped.
He said: “My father was the sole one that supplied food without even billing. He was arrested as a war collaborator and languished in jail and suffered inhumane torture. My father-in-law Syed Ahmed Ashraf was campaigning for Pakistan in 1937 with Muhammad Ali Jinnah. He was Secretary-General of All India Muslim League. he's buried in Islamia College. We aren't and weren't against Pakistan. We weren't Indian agents. Whatever our relationships with India, we were towing MQM’s party line.”
Anwar said the late Asma Jahangir called MQM’s office on 12 May 2007 and told the London office that MQM people were involved in killing innocent people and pleaded to the party leadership to prevent the carnage in Karachi during Pervez Musharraf’s government.
“I, Anees Advocate, Imran Farooq, and Tariq Mir were against the violence. I told leadership what would happen to us in international and native opinion but within the end, Karachi leaders prevailed and Altaf didn’t accept as true with us."
Anwar offered that he would cooperate with the authorities within the UK and Pakistan if needed to determine facts. Anwar has warned that he is going to be spilling more beans on MQM if anyone tried to malign him.
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