Re: Altaf Hussain Updates | AH consults Shaukat Aziz
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Siddiqui to lead MQM if Hussain charged in UK
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*By Tariq Butt
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ISLAMABAD: Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Deputy Convener Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui will be named as the successor of Altaf Hussain, the party’s chief leader and founder, if the latter is charged for any of the three offences he is being investigated in London under English laws, said a news report.
Hussain has already discussed various contingency plans with his senior party aides with reference to the three serious investigations currently active in Britain involving him and his colleagues in the MQM, the report carried in the leading English language daily The News said.
Siddiqui, who recently returned from the US to play a frontline role in Pakistan, has the blessings of Hussain and enjoys his confidence more than anyone else in the party.
The Metropolitan Police London are investigating the murder of key MQM leader Dr Imran Farooq. Hussain has been questioned under caution and is being investigated under the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) and the third investigation revolves around allegations that he broke English laws by inciting violence in Pakistan.
It is understood that Hussain and his colleagues fiercely contest all these allegations but they are prepared in their minds that the investigations can go in any direction and they acknowledge that they cannot predict an outcome of these probes.
Siddiqui was brought to the frontline of the politics after the May 11 general elections when Hussain demoted many of his colleagues; threw out some; made several redundant and put several on the “wait and see” list.
“Siddiqui is a loyal guard and has proven his worth over the years. It was not for nothing that he was pushed to the most vocal, visible and prominent position in the MQM politics. Hussain thought hard over it and decided that Siddiqui was the best man to deal with the serious issues in Britain that the party is having to deal with. If Siddiqui is made overall leader in absentia then he will be aided by Amir Khan, a former critic of Hussain who repented and was allowed back in the party, Kanwar Naweed and Irshad Kamali,” an MQM leader said.
Siddiqui has been vocal in recent days condemning “negative propaganda against the party and Hussain.”