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'{{Notability|Bio|date=December 2020}} {{EngvarB|date=September 2014}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2014}} {{Infobox person | name = Imran Farooq | birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1960|6|14}} | birth_place = [[Karachi, Pakistan]] | death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|2010|9|16|1960|6|14}} | death_place = [[London, England]] | nationality = {{PAK}} <br>{{GBR}} | education = | party = [[Muttahida Qaumi Movement]] | occupation = Physician, politician | parents = Mohammad Farooq Ahmed and Raisa Farooq | spouse = Shumaila Nazar | children = 2<ref>{{Cite web|title=Brief profile of Dr Imran Farooq.(1960–2010)|url=http://www.mqm.org/English-News/Sep-2010/news100916b.htm|publisher=Muttahida Quami Movement|access-date=23 September 2010}}</ref> }} '''Imran Farooq''' ({{lang-ur|{{Nastaliq|عمران فاروق}}}}; 14 June 1960 – 16 September 2010)<ref name="Dawn-life">{{Cite news | url = http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/Pakistan/metropolitan/04-imran-farooq-qs-02 | title = Imran Farooq: Life of a political worker | work = [[Dawn (newspaper)|Dawn]] | date = 17 September 2010 | access-date = 18 September 2010 }}</ref> was a British-Pakistani politician who was best known for his association with the [[Muttahida Qaumi Movement]] (MQM), a political party in Pakistan, of which he was a very senior member. He was also a founding member of the [[All Pakistan Muhajir Student Organization]]. Farooq held several positions in MQM and the Pakistani government.<ref name="Dr Imran Farooq: a profile">{{Cite web|url=http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/local/dr-imran-farooq-a-profile-890|title=Dr Imran Farooq: a profile|publisher=[[Dawn (newspaper)|Dawn]]|date=18 September 2010|access-date=6 October 2010 }}</ref> He lived in London in self-imposed exile from 1999 until he was murdered in September 2010.<ref name="Dr Imran Farooq: a profile"/> ==Biography== Imran Farooq was born in [[Karachi]], Pakistan. His father, Farooq Ahmed, was born in [[Delhi]], [[British India]] before he migrated to [[Pakistan]] after the [[Partition of India|independence]] of [[Pakistan]] in 1947<ref>[http://www.srilankaguardian.org/2010/09/who-killed-dr-imran-farooq.html Sri Lanka Guardian: Who killed Dr. Imran Farooq?]</ref><ref name="History Of Pakistan">{{Cite news|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-z_bMpswmc|title=History of Pakistan}}</ref> and was elected as a Member of the [[National Assembly of Pakistan]].<ref name="indep">{{Cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/the-murder-in-suburbia-that-sent-shockwaves-across-the-world-2082697.html|title=The murder in suburbia that sent shockwaves across the world|publisher=[[The Independent]]|date=18 September 2010|access-date=20 September 2010|newspaper=Independent}}</ref> Farooq's father was [[Muhajir people|Muhajir]]. Farooq was a physician by education. He graduated from [[Sindh Medical College]] in Karachi, Pakistan with an [[MBBS]] degree in 1985.<ref name="Dr Imran Farooq: a profile"/> In 2004, Farooq married a former member of the [[Sindh Assembly]], Shumaila Nazar.<ref name="Dr Imran Farooq: a profile"/><ref name="Imran Farooq Wedding">{{Cite web|url=http://www.mqm.org/English-News/Feb-2004/ifweddsn040213.htm|title=Imran Farooq Wedding|publisher=[[MQM USA]]|date=13 February 2004|access-date=9 October 2010 }}</ref> He fathered two children.<ref name="Dawn newspaper">{{Cite web|url=http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/Pakistan/metropolitan/04-imran-farooq-qs-02|title=Imran Farooq: Life of a Political Worker|publisher=[[Dawn (newspaper)|Dawn]]|date=17 September 2010|access-date=6 October 2010 }}</ref> Farooq was related to [[Tahir Qureshi]] (former MPA). Farooq's great grandfather was also once the governor of Delhi, India. Although he was not a writer by profession, Farooq authored several works during his lifetime. His best known contribution is ''The Guiding Principles of MQM''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.mqmusa.com/Units/Central/THE%20GUIDING%20PRINCIPLES%20OF%20MQM.pdf|title=The Guiding Principles|publisher=MQM USA|access-date=12 October 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714122350/http://www.mqmusa.com/Units/Central/THE%20GUIDING%20PRINCIPLES%20OF%20MQM.pdf|archive-date=14 July 2011|df=dmy-all}}</ref> ==Mohajir Quami Movement== In 1978, Farooq helped established the All Pakistan Muhajir Student Organization. When in 1984, it gave birth to the Mohajir Quami Movement, Farooq served as its first Secretary General and Convener.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.mqm.org/English-News/Sep-2010/news100916b.htm|title=Brief Profile of Dr. Imran Farooq|publisher=MQM USA|access-date=6 October 2010 }}</ref> In 1988 and 1990, he was elected to the [[Pakistan National Assembly]] and became the Parliamentary Leader of the MQM.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/Pakistan/metropolitan/04-imran-farooq-qs-02|title=Imran Farooq: Life of a Political Worker|publisher=Dawn Newspaper|date=17 September 2010|access-date=6 October 2010 }}</ref> By 1992, the MQM had become a political force in Karachi. In an effort to curtail its power, the [[Government of Pakistan|Pakistani government]] launched [[Operation Clean-up]] and sent the [[Pakistan Military|military]] into Karachi to crack down on the movement, causing the leadership, including Farooq, to go into hiding. After being in hiding for nearly seven years, Farooq escaped from Pakistan in 1999, sought [[political asylum]] in the United Kingdom and later gained [[British citizenship]].<ref name="Dawn-MQM-stunned">{{Cite news | title = MQM stunned as Imran Farooq is assassinated in London | url = http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/front-page/mqm-stunned-as-imran-farooq-is-assassinated-in-london-790 | work = [[Dawn (newspaper)|Dawn]] | date = 17 September 2010 | access-date = 18 September 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news | title = Pakistani fugitive claims asylum in UK | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/443411.stm | publisher = [[BBC News]] | date = 10 September 1999 | access-date = 18 September 2010}}</ref> From London, Farooq continued to lead the MQM with [[Altaf Hussain (Pakistani politician)|Altaf Hussain]] and other senior members of the party from exile. When Farooq left Pakistan, he had a bounty on his head. Farooq was charged with terrorism, which he denied upon arrival in London.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/the-murder-in-suburbia-that-sent-shockwaves-across-the-world-2082697.html|title=The Murder in Suburbia...|publisher=[[Dawn (newspaper)|Dawn]]|date=18 September 2010|access-date=6 October 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/443411.stm|title=Pakistani Fugitive Claims Asylum in UK|publisher=[[Dawn (newspaper)|Dawn]]|date=17 September 2010|access-date=6 October 2010 }}</ref> The charges against Farooq were challenged by his mother in 1992 in the [[Sindh High Court]] (SHC). The SHC's verdict declared the bounty to be illegal and unconstitutional; the consequent appeal by the provincial [[Government of Sindh]] was dismissed by the Supreme Court.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.dawn.com/2003/05/29/local27.htm |title=Head Money on MQM Men |publisher=[[Dawn (newspaper)|Dawn]] |date=29 May 2003 |access-date=12 October 2010 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050120090006/http://www.dawn.com/2003/05/29/local27.htm |archive-date=20 January 2005 }}</ref> Farooq maintained close relations with Altaf Hussain, who called Farooq his "staunch, loyal, and senior companion." In 2004, when Farooq got married in London, Hussain attended the festivities.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Imran Farooq's Wedding Celebration|url=http://www.mqm.org/English-News/Feb-2004/ifweddsn040213_4.htm |publisher=MQM|access-date=30 September 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=MQM|url=http://www.mqm.org/|publisher=MQM|access-date=30 September 2010}}</ref><ref name="Worked-at-Pharmacy">{{Cite web|url=http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/front-page/imran-farooqs-burial-planned-in-karachi-mqm-sees-murder-as-message-for-altaf-890|title=Imran Farooq's burial planned in Karachi|publisher=Dawn|date=18 September 2010|access-date=25 September 2010}}</ref> ==Murder, investigation and conviction== Farooq was found murdered near his home in [[North London]] on 16 September 2010. The murder took place at 5:30&nbsp;p.m. [[GMT]] as Farooq was returning home after finishing work at a local [[pharmacy]].<ref name="BBC-found-murdered">{{Cite news | title = Pakistani politician Imran Farooq murdered in London | url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-11338054 | publisher = [[BBC News]] | date = 17 September 2010 | access-date = 18 September 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news | title = Imran Farooq murdered outside London home | url = https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2010/sep/17/imran-farooq-murdered-london-home | work = [[The Guardian]] | date = 17 September 2010 | access-date = 18 September 2010 }}</ref><ref name=":0">Shah, Murtaza Ali. "[http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-13-1023-Police-find-knife-brick-used-to-kill-Imran-Farooq Police find knife, brick used to kill Imran Farooq]". ''[[The News International]]''. 2 October 2010. Retrieved 12 July 2013.</ref> The [[Metropolitan Police]] said they were called on the complaint of a "serious assault" in Green Lane, [[Edgware]], where they found Farooq, who had suffered multiple stab wounds and head injuries. Despite the efforts of paramedics, Farooq was pronounced dead. An autopsy determined the cause of death as being [[head trauma]] and stab wounds to the neck. The suspect(s) had fled the scene leaving behind a 14&nbsp;cm (5&nbsp;in) knife and a [[Brick|house brick]] used to commit the crime.<ref name="BBC-found-murdered" /> An unidentified suspect was arrested in December 2010.<ref>http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=2573&Cat=13&dt=12/10/2010</ref> Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) Counter Terrorism Command detectives investigating Farooq's murder believe that he was building his independent political profile in the months before he was killed.<ref>http://content.met.police.uk/Appeal/Appeal-on-second-anniversary-of-Dr-Imran-Farooq-murder/1400011606216/1257246741786</ref> In June 2013, British police arrested Iftikhar Hussain, a primary suspect in the murder case. According to sources familiar with the developments, the detainee is a relative of a top Pakistani politician. The arrest was made in response to forensic evidence gathered by the police. The [[Scotland Yard]] stated that they had sought the [[Call Detail Record]] (CDR) along with text messages from the [[Subscriber identity module|SIM]] obtained from Hussain.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/567947/detained-in-london-suspect-in-imran-farooq-murder-held/|title=Iftikhar Hussain held in Imran Farooq murder case|work=Express Tribune|date=25 June 2013|access-date=25 June 2013}}</ref> According to sources privy to the development at Scotland Yard, the information obtained from the SIM of Iftikhar Hussain has brought previously unknown facts and connections into the limelight. According to the Yard, the killing may be politically motivated with the secondary objective of [[Money laundering|money-laundering]]. However, the police refrained from disclosing the information as the investigation is currently ongoing.<ref>"[http://tribune.com.pk/story/568190/imran-farooq-murder-political-workers-politicians-wife-being-investigated/ Imran Farooq murder: Political workers, politician's wife being investigated]". ''[[The Express Tribune]]''. 25 June 2013. Retrieved 12 July 2013.</ref> A prominent Pakistan journalist, [[Najam Sethi]], in his programme ''Apas ki Baat, ''stated that Farooq had registered a complaint against threat to life with the [[London Metropolitan Police]] prior to his murder.<ref>"[http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-7-188457-Imran-Farooq-had-complained-to-London-police-about-threat Imran Farooq had complained to London police about threat]". ''[[The News International]]''. 8 July 2013. Retrieved 12 July 2013.</ref> Major suspect of the murder case, Khalid Shamim, confessed on 10 November 2016 that all the planning of murder took place on [[Nine Zero]]. He revealed that 16 September was chosen as the date to murder as a birthday gift to [[Altaf Hussain (Pakistani politician)|Altaf Hussain]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.geo.tv/latest/120266-Imran-Farooq-murder-suspect-reveals-shocking-new-information|title=Khalid Shamim confessed murder}}</ref> On 18 June 2020, an anti-terrorism court of Islamabad convicted the three accused namely: Syed Mohsin Ali, Moazzam Ali and Khalid Shamim. They were sentenced to life imprisonment and were also imposed a fine of Rs 1.2 million each for the murder.<ref>{{cite news |title=Court rules ‘absconding’ Altaf ordered Imran Farooq’s murder |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1564440/ |work=Dawn |date=19 June 2020}}</ref> ===Reactions to death=== Pakistani President [[Asif Ali Zardari]] expressed his deep sorrow and shock saying that "Imran was a great political leader who rendered his services for his party diligently."<ref name="Asif-Zardari-Pays-Tribute">{{Cite web|url=http://www.geo.tv/9-17-2010/71540.htm|title=President condemns Dr Imran Farooq's murder|publisher=[[Geo TV]]|date=17 September 2010|access-date=25 September 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100921065145/http://www.geo.tv/9-17-2010/71540.htm|archive-date=21 September 2010|df=dmy-all}}</ref> Prime Minister [[Yousaf Raza Gilani]] called the MQM leader Altaf Hussain to offer his condolences and said Farooq's death was a great loss for MQM.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://dunyanews.tv/main_category_eng.php?nid=16271&catid=2&flag=d|title=PM Gilani telephones Altaf Hussain, condoles upon Dr. Imran's murder|publisher=[[Dunya News]]|date=19 September 2010|access-date=25 September 2010}}</ref> The [[Pakistani Senate]] adjourned a session of parliament and paid tribute to Farooq from across the political spectrum.<ref name="Senate-Pays-Tribute">{{Cite web|url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/52748/senate-pays-rich-tribute-to-thahim-dr-farooq|title=Senate pays rich tribute to Thahim, Dr Farooq|publisher=[[The Express Tribune]]|date=21 September 2010|access-date=25 September 2010}}</ref> Pakistan's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom [[Wajid Shamsul Hasan]] called on the police to find the "sinister hand" behind the assassination. He added that "The Pakistani government has condemned this murder in the strongest possible words, "that Farooq "was really highly respected by whatever political groups...He believed more in solutions to problems than creating problems and his assassination needs to be condemned in the strongest possible way because he was not a violent person."<ref name="High-Commissioner-Pays-Tribute">{{Cite web|url=http://www.times-series.co.uk/news/topstories/8399277.Pakistani_high_commissioner_condemns_political__assassination|title=Pakistani high commissioner pays tribute to Dr Imran Farooq, murdered in Edgware last night|publisher=Hendon and Finchley Times|date=17 September 2010|access-date=25 September 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120323213516/http://www.times-series.co.uk/news/topstories/8399277.Pakistani_high_commissioner_condemns_political__assassination/|archive-date=23 March 2012|df=dmy-all}}</ref> Altaf Hussain also lauded Farooq's long relationship with him and said he was at a loss to explain his grief at Dr. Farooq's death, adding that Farooq had set an example for others to follow.<ref name="Altaf-Hussain-Pays-Tribute">{{Cite web|url=http://www.thenews.com.pk/latest-news/1479.htm|title=Altaf Hussain pays tribute to Dr Imran Farooq|publisher=[[The News (Pakistan)|The News]]|date=19 September 2010|access-date=25 September 2010}}</ref> He also called Farooq a "''Shaheed-e-Inqalab''" or Martyr of the Revolution. Altaf Hussain also very publicly mourned the death of his colleague.<ref name="www.nation.com.pk">{{Cite web|url=http://www.nation.com.pk/Pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/Politics/18-Sep-2010/Imran-Farooq-is-ShaheedeInqilab-Altaf|title=Imran Farooq is Shaheed-e-Inqilab: Altaf|publisher=[[The Nation]]|date=18 September 2010|access-date=25 September 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120128175738/http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/politics/18-Sep-2010/Imran-Farooq-is-ShaheedeInqilab-Altaf|archive-date=28 January 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> Following reports of his death, violence erupted in his native city of Karachi, Pakistan's main commercial city. Several shops and vehicles were set on fire; however, no casualties were reported. MQM called for a 10-day strike to mourn Farooq's death.<ref name="CNN-violence-erupts">{{Cite news | url = http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/09/17/Pakistan.violence | title = Violence erupts in Pakistan after politician's death | publisher = [[CNN]] | date = 17 September 2010 | access-date = 18 September 2010 }}</ref> Recitations of the Quran and prayers were organised by members of MQM across the world.<ref name="AAJ News-MQM-expresses">{{Cite news | url = http://www.aaj.tv/2010/09/mqm-expresses-concerns-over-violence-in-city/ | title = MQM expresses concerns over violence in city | publisher = [[AAJ News]] | date = 20 September 2010 }}</ref> ==References== {{Reflist|colwidth=30em}} [http://www.samaa.tv/pakistan/2016/04/fia-submits-interim-charge-sheet-in-imran-farooq-case/ Imran Farooq case latest update] ==External links== {{Portal|Pakistan|Biography}} * [http://www.mqm.org/English-News/Sep-2010/news100916b.htm Profile of Imran Farooq] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20130406150442/http://drimranfarooq.org/ In Loving memories of Dr.Imran Farooq] {{DEFAULTSORT:Farooq, Imran}} [[Category:1960 births]] [[Category:2010 deaths]] [[Category:2010 murders in the United Kingdom]] [[Category:Muttahida Qaumi Movement politicians]] [[Category:People murdered in London]] [[Category:Pakistani murder victims]] [[Category:Pakistani expatriates in England]] [[Category:Deaths by stabbing in London]] [[Category:Politicians from Karachi]] [[Category:Assassinated Pakistani politicians]] [[Category:Pakistani medical doctors]] [[Category:Jinnah Sindh Medical University alumni]] [[Category:Pakistani people of Bihari descent]] [[Category:2010 in London]]'