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MQM chief Altaf Hussain contemplating return to Pakistan

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Press Trust of India Karachi
Last Updated : May 18 2014 | 3:20 PM IST
MQM chief Altaf Hussain is contemplating returning to Pakistan from self-exile after the British government froze all his bank accounts in the UK.
Altaf Hussain, founder of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), told a private television channel last night that no lawyer is willing to represent him in the UK in the money laundering and other cases being investigated against him by British authorities.
"I face money laundering and other cases, which have not been presented in court so far. And without any proof, the British government has sealed all my bank accounts.
"The British authorities have conducted raids at my house and office and because of fear of the British establishment no lawyer is willing to come forward but I will continue to fight and face everything alone," he said.
He said the British government can put him in jail and kill him but he will "continue to speak the truth".
"If I have to die, then why not in Pakistan?"

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Regarding his national identity card, Hussain said he has warts on his legs and feet and cannot walk properly.
However, he managed to come to the MQM secretariat in London where National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) officials carried out the procedure.
"Now they are saying the data has gone corrupt? Do the prime minister and the interior minister want me to beg for my national identity (Pakistani identity)? I don't want this charity from them," he said.
The Karachi-based MQM represents the Urdu-speaking Muhajirs who migrated from undivided India during Partition.
Hussain has lived in the UK in self-exile since 1992 after surviving an assassination attempt in Pakistan.
His parents had moved from Agra during the Partition and settled in Pakistan.
Hussain lives in London and maintains British nationality after he was granted political asylum and frequently addresses his party supporters in Pakistan through teleconference.

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First Published: May 18 2014 | 3:20 PM IST

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