MQM says armed men attempted ‘forced entry’ into Altaf Hussain’s London home

LONDON: Two masked men allegedly tried to force their way into Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) founder Altaf Hussain’s home in north London, causing damage to the property, the party’s coordination committee said.

According to the MQM, the two men jumped over the front gate of Hussain’s residence in Mill Hill, near Edgware, and attempted to enter the house by force.

The party said the men, who appeared to be trained, damaged the main front door and a window while trying to gain entry.

Hussain said he was only a few feet away in his ground-floor bedroom when the two men, who were carrying weapons, jumped over the gate and attempted to enter the house.

He said the men fled after the security alarm was activated.

MQM activists immediately contacted the Metropolitan Police, whose officers attended the scene, carried out forensic examinations and launched an investigation, according to Hussain’s account.

The MQM coordination committee called on British authorities to conduct a full and transparent investigation into the alleged attack and identify the two masked men.

The party also demanded that the circumstances surrounding the incident and those responsible be established.

Who is Altaf Hussain?

Hussain, 73, founded the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, formerly known as the Mohajir Qaumi Movement, after establishing the All-Pakistan Mohajir Students Organisation with Azeem Ahmed Tariq at the University of Karachi in 1978.

The MQM later emerged as a major political force in urban Sindh. Under Hussain’s leadership, the party swept the 1988 general election in Sindh’s urban areas and emerged as the country’s third-largest political party.

Hussain moved into exile in the early 1990s as the government conducted an operation against the MQM in Karachi. He subsequently ran the party from London for decades.

Following a controversial speech by Hussain in August 2016, authorities in Pakistan launched a crackdown against the MQM, sealing the party’s Karachi headquarters and his residence in Azizabad. Party leaders in Pakistan subsequently distanced themselves from him.

In the UK, Hussain was charged in 2019 with encouraging terrorism over his 2016 speech. He was acquitted on two counts of encouraging terrorism by a 12-member jury in February 2022.