London: Pakistan-origin British politician and life-peer Lord Nazir Ahmed has once again taken the controversial affairs of MQM and its leader Altaf Hussain with Home Secretary Theresa May and Attorney General Jeremy Wright. In his letters to both the dignitaries, Lord Nazir Ahmed has drawn their attention that the Metropolitan Police has recently decided to lift the bail conditions on Altaf Hussain, who has previously been investigated in relation to possible money laundering, along with five other party members as the British media reported.
“Given the scale of the police investigation which has lasted over a period of years, he would be interested to know why the evidence gathered was not forwarded to the Crown Prosecution Service for assessment especially as the investigation was a multi-million pounds one, as reported in the media. This raises suspicions as it suggests there was some outside pressure put onto the investigation, causing it to become a failure and therefore be unsuccessful in prosecuting those who were said to be involved with money laundering,” he said.
Lord Nazir Ahmed said he understands the MQM’s own lawyers are aware of the strong evidence facing their clients. He was told that Altaf Husain’s lawyer were certain that their client would have charged. It is, therefore, difficult to understand why the police decided that this evidence gathered, at considerable cost to the public’s purse, did not even merit being sent to the Crown Prosecution Service.
Lord Ahmed also referred the British system generally has a clear role with investigations like these, they would usually review the evidence given by the police and then make a decision on whether to press charges or not. However, it seems in this case as though the police have spent a great deal of money on an investigation, which supposedly did not even produce enough evidence to send a file to the CPS.
Lord Ahmed has also asked them to confirm that no Indian officials have approached the British Government regarding these investigations into MQM party. This is solely for the purpose of being reassured that there is no hint of Indian interference in the conduct of a British police investigation. It is learnt by informed sources that the Attorney General has informed Lord Ahmed in his reply that Home Secretary Theresa May is competent authority to respond these queries. A response from the Home Secretary is awaited.
