Imran Khan to sue Altaf Hussein in Britain

Former Pakistani cricketer and chief of the Tehreek-i-Insaaf party, Imran Khan is planning to use the British courts to sue Altaf Hussein, the leader of Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM).

London, June 2 : Former Pakistani cricketer and chief of the Tehreek-i-Insaaf party, Imran Khan is planning to use the British courts to sue Altaf Hussein, the leader of Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM).

Khan claims that Hussein was responsible for last month's violence in Karachi, which left over 40 dead and many more injured.

Hussein holds a British citizenship and runs the MQM from an office on Edgware Road, London. He is one of the most prominent politicians of Pakistan, but refuses to lead his party from Pakistan, alleging threats to his life from political opponents.

"The MQM is a terrorist organisation and how can British Premier Tony Blair allow it to function from London when he is supposedly fighting war on terror," the Independent quoted Khan, as saying.

Human rights groups and opponents of MQM have accused it of deliberately stirring up the riots in Karachi last month.

If Khan succeeds in launching legal proceedings against Hussein, it would be a remarkable twist in the already turbulent world of Pakistani politics.

"I have huge numbers of people who are willing to testify against Hussein in a British court," said Khan.

Meanwhile, a spokesman of the MQM has dismissed Khan's threats as little more than political gimmickry and vowed to fight any legal proceedings.

"Unfortunately this is dirty Pakistani politics," Tariq Mir, who heads up the MQM's legal team in Britain, said.

Over the past 12 months the situation in Pakistan has become grim. There have been political assassinations and disappearances, and a major judiciary crisis, sparked off by President Pervez Musharraf's suspension of the Chief Justice, Iftikhar Mumammad Chaudhry.

ANI