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| Altaf Hussain الطاف حسین |
|
|---|---|
| Born | 17 September 1953 Karachi, Pakistan |
| Education | Bachelor of Pharmacy |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Political party | Muttahida Qaumi Movement |
| Spouse(s) | Faiza Altaf (divorced). |
| Children | Afzaa Altaf |
| Parents | Nazeer Hussain and Khursheed Begum[1] |
Altaf Hussain (Urdu: الطاف حسین) (born 17 September 1953, Karachi) is a Pakistani politician, the founder and leader of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement. He lives in voluntary exile in North London, United Kingdom, after seeking political asylum in 1992. He now lives as a British citizen.[2]
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Personal life
Altaf Hussain was born to Nazeer Hussein and Khursheed Begum in Karachi.[1].His father Nazeer Hussain (d. 1967) and mother Khurshed Begum (d. 1985) both came from Agra, India.[1][3] Hussain is from an educated middle class family. They lived in a small house in 'Federal B Area' of Karachi, which is now the Head Office of MQM and is called Nine Zero.
Education
Altaf Hussain graduated from Islamia Science College in Karachi.[citation needed] Later he studied at the University of Karachi in the Department of Pharmacy.
Political career
He started his political career when he was a student in University of Karachi, where he founded the APMSO on 11 June 1978. APMSO started gaining the support of Urdu-speaking students and the refugee population from India and were able to win 92 seats in college elections in 1980.[citation needed] However, APMSO faced strong opposition from Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba, the student wing of Jamaat-i-Islami,[citation needed] and it was banned in 1981.[3]
He founded the organization MQM in 1984 ,[4] to represent the people who emigrated from India in 1947 following Partition, and later campaigned for an end to feudalism and rights for poorer Pakistanis.[5]
On 21 December 1991, Hussain was attacked but he escaped injury.[citation needed] A warrant was issued for his arrest in connection with a murder.[4] On 1 January 1992 he fled Pakistan for Saudi Arabia[citation needed] and after one month moved to London, United Kingdom. During 1992 to 1993 Altaf Hussain's brothers and nephews were killed.[citation needed] He sought political asylum in the United Kingdom, where he now lives in Mill Hill, North London as a UK citizen.[3][4] Imran Khan has accused Hussain of soliciting violence in Pakistan.[2][6] The British government has turned down extradition requests from Pakistan,[5] where more than 100 criminal charges were filed against him by Benazir Bhutto's government in the mid-90s.[3]
Altaf Hussain strongly holds that "the division of India was the greatest historic blunder in the history of mankind. The British hatched a conspiracy to divide the land and people."[1]
However, in a recent interview with Najam Sethi, Hussain said that during my address in the India, I said that Pakistan is a reality and India is a reality and both the countries should accept each other with an open heart. Staging war and rift relations between militries of the both countries is not in the favor of the citizens of the countries. The people of the both countries should be allowed to roam freely and there should be open trade to improve economic ties.[7]
Hussain often criticizes "Talibanisation" in Karachi. However, his calls are widely viewed as a cover for the MQM's anti-Pashtun policy in Karachi. Most Pashtuns in Karachi are loyal to the secular Awami National Party.[8][9]
Criminal charges
Two years after leaving Pakistan, Altaf Hussain was sentenced 27 years in army major kidnapping case by special terrorist court.[10][11] However in 1998 he was acquitted by the Sindh High Court of these charges.[12][13]
On Nov 22, 2009, Pakistan government released the limited list of beneficiaries of notorious legal act called National Reconciliation Ordinance which granted amnesty to politicians, political workers and bureaucrats who were accused of corruption, embezzlement, money-laundering, murder and terrorism between 1st January 1986 and October 12th 1999, the time between two Martial Laws.. According to the list, Altaf Hussain had the highest number of cases withdrawn against him - 72, with 31 on murder and 11 on murder attempts. MQM's leader in national assembly, Farooq Sattar had the second highest number of cases withdrawn - 23 , including five on charges of murder and four on attempt to murder. [14]
Deaths of relatives
On December 5, 1995, Hussain's brother and nephew, Nasir Hussain (age 62) and Arif Hussain (age 28), were abducted. On December 9, 1995, their mutilated bodies were found in Gaddap, Karachi.[15]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d The Rediff Interview/MQM leader Altaf Hussein rediff.com
- ^ a b Walsh, Declan; Matthew Taylor (2 June 2007). "The Karachi ruling party 'run like the mafia' from an office block in London". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2007/jun/02/uk.pakistan. Retrieved 2009-06-23.
- ^ a b c d Ford, Jonathan (13 July 1995). "Fighting Benazir by fax from Mill Hill". Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fighting-benazir-by-fax-from-mill-hill-1591149.html. Retrieved 2009-06-23.
- ^ a b c "Mysterious world of a movement in exile". The Independent. 15 November 2007. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/mysterious-world-of-a-movement-in-exile-400437.html. Retrieved 2009-06-23.
- ^ a b Whitaker, Raymond (2 February 1997). "Leader who addresses the faithful by phone". Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/leader-who-addresses-the-faithful-by-phone-1276553.html. Retrieved 2009-06-23.
- ^ Sengupta, Kim; Andrew Buncombe (15 September 2007). "Imran Khan's message to UK: 'My life is in danger'". Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/imran-khans-message-to-uk-my-life-is-in-danger-400434.html. Retrieved 2009-06-23.
- ^ Altaf faces interview with Najam Sethi
- ^ Walsh, Declan (30 April 2009). "Spate of shootings kill 29 in Karachi". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/apr/30/karachi-shootings-pakistan. Retrieved 2009-06-23.
- ^ Ebrahim, Zofeen (2007-05-14). "PrintSend to a friend PAKISTAN: Karachi Allowed to Burn, Say Residents". IPS. http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=37720. Retrieved 2009-08-06.
- ^ Jamal, Arif (6 May 1995). "Pakistan's at war with itself". New Straits Times (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Media Prima). http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=LHAWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ZB8EAAAAIBAJ&pg=6750,2227217&dq=altaf-hussain+27-years. Retrieved 2009-08-08.
- ^ Qadir, Abdul. "Chronology of the Events (1991-2006)". Jang. http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/spedition/sp_news15/p32.htm. Retrieved 2009-08-08.
- ^ http://www.indianexpress.com/res/web/pIe/ie/daily/19980208/03950104.html
- ^ "MQM leader is acquitted in Pakistan". BBC World Service (BBC News). 6 February 1998. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/world/s/w_asia/54241.stm. Retrieved 2009-06-23.
- ^ Wasim, Amir (2009-11-22). "NRO list out, 34 politicians among 8,000 beneficiaries". DAWN News. http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/pakistan/04--nro-qs-10. Retrieved 2009-11-23.
- ^ "GOVERNMENT TO PROBE DEATHS OF ACTIVIST'S KIN". Akron Beacon Journal. December 11, 1995. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=AK&s_site=ohio&p_multi=AK&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB632AFCA5D49F1&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
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