More humiliation may be in store for Altaf Hussain 

Allah gives honour to whom He wills and humiliates whom He wills – Al-Quran. 

The MQM-P has initiated a legal claim at the London High Court for the ownership of seven expensive London properties against the party’s founder Altaf Hussain, his brother Iqbal Hussain and five others.  

The properties are worth over £10 million. 

According to a recent media report, a law firm has started the case on behalf of Federal Minister Syed Aminul Haque, who is also a member of Rabita Committee of MQM-Pakistan.  

This is the first time that the MQM-Pakistan has taken up direct challenge to its former founder and his associates since the breakup of the MQM some years ago.  

The MQM-P has launched the claim in its capacity as the beneficiary of the trusts holding seven London properties. 

In case the decision comes in favour of the petitioner, the respondents will have to face tremendous humiliation. 

A lawyer of the legal firm has been quoted as saying “The purpose of the claim is to obtain declaratory relief from the High Court as to trust assets which are held by the defendants as trustees for the benefit of the MQM-P. In addition to the declarations of trusts, there are other court documents, which affirm and attest that the trust assets belong to the MQM”.   

The claimant (MQM-P) seeks declaratory relief that the seven properties are trust assets because of which the defendants have no authority on dealing with and misappropriating trust funds.

There was a time when the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (launched in March 1984) was the most dreaded organization. Because of its activities many people regarded it as a terrorist, extortionist organization but did not raise voice against it because of the likely consequences. 

Being a mouthpiece of Mohajir community, it has considerable following in Karachi, Hyderabad and a few other areas of Sindh. 

Altaf Hussain was its undisputed leader and his strike or protest calls on various occasions were overwhelmingly responded. Nothing moved without a command from the MQM supremo. 

The party effectively ousted the PPP from urban areas of Sindh and thus emerged as a real rival to the party of Bhuttos.

But as a result of crackdown against the party in 1992, Altaf fled the country and took refuge in the UK. He ultimately became a British citizen.   

He remote-controlled the party for a long time although on a number of occasions he spoke against the country and its very ideology.

A bachelor of pharmacy from the University of Karachi, Altaf is now a totally changed person - enemy of Pakistan.

The sea change in his thinking can be assessed from the speech he delivered in his address at a conference in New Delhi in November 2006. 

He criticized the Two-Nation Theory and blamed independence for dividing the Muslims of South Asia. 

“Perhaps the idea of Pakistan was dead at its inception, when the majority of Muslims chose to stay back after the partition, a truism reiterated in the creation of Bangladesh in 1971”. 

On another occasion he was quoted as saying that partition of India was the biggest blunder in the history of mankind.

As a result of such nonsensical utterances he has lost the respect he used to enjoy in the past and is hated by those who were once very close to him.

His party stands divided into three factions: MQM-P, MQM-London and Pak Sarzameen Party.  

(PSP chief Syed Mustafa Kamal, who was once the mayor of Karachi, is now among the staunchest critics of Mr Altaf).

Altaf's hours-long ‘braying’, frequently telecast live from London, now stands banned in Pakistan.

As another setback, MQM’s former senior leaders Muhammad Anwar and Tariq Mir have told Altaf Hussain that they will not hand over the control of two Whitechurch Lane properties to the MQM founder, something that could not be imagined in the past.

Altaf Hussain’s ‘patriotism’ was exposed in June this year when MQM’s former head of diplomatic wing and Coordination Committee member Muhammad Anwar alleged that the party has been receiving funds from the Indian government and that he was asked by the party leadership to coordinate with Indian contacts to receive the funding. 

In an interview in London with the correspondent of a Pakistani newspaper, he gave details of how he got connected to Indian diplomats.  

Anwar said that it was never his decision to meet Indian diplomats and deal with them. “I confirm that I was obeying orders of the party. I was asked to do what I did and I was connected by the MQM with the Indian contacts. I never had any vested interests. We were towing the party line on India.” 

According to a BBC report, MQM officials have told the UK authorities they received Indian government funds.

UK authorities investigating the MQM for alleged money laundering also found a list of weapons in an MQM property. 

A Pakistani official told the BBC that India trained hundreds of MQM militants over the past 10 years. 

The nation is eagerly waiting for the outcome of the London proceedings.