Adil Najam
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The murder of Dr. Imran Farooq – one of the founders of MQM, a central figure in the development of the party and a key architect of its conceptual and ideological foundations – in London has sent shock around Pakistani political circles, particularly in Karachi.
Once second in prominence in MQM circles only to Altaf Hussain, Imran Farooq has been out of political news for many years now and had distanced himself – or been distanced – from mainstream day-to-day MQM affairs. The reasons why have remained unclear but the stuff of rumor mills. His murder in London is bound to reignite the rumor mills again. Indeed, they already have.
It remains unclear what happened in London. But it is clear that the repercussions of what happened there will be felt in Karachi and beyond well into and after the 10-day "mourning period" declared by MQM. Right now all television channels seem more engrossed in showing MQM leader Altaf Hussain’s near hysterical breakdown at MQM’s London offices, but we need to also begin thinking through the many critical questions that remain unanswered: Was this a run of the mill mugging and murder in a large international metropolis, or an international political targeting? If the later, who was behind it and why? But most important of all: what, if anything, does this mean for MQM; and by extension for Karachi and Pakistan?
Details still remain sketchy and there are more rumors floating than facts. This report from Dawn lays out the essential details:
Dr Imran Farooq, a founding leader of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and the organisation’s first secretary general, was assassinated in London on Thursday evening. Dr Farooq also served as the party’s only convener.
Television reports, quoting party and family sources, said Dr Farooq was attacked by some unidentified men with daggers near his London residence. He died of multiple wounds. But according to one source, a lone assailant had been lying in wait inside the apartment block where Dr Farooq lived on the first floor. He was attacked with a knife when he was climbing the stairs. He died on the spot.
At first the MQM leadership tried to keep the murder under wraps. Meetings in different cities to mark the 57th birthday of the party’s founding leader, Altaf Hussain, were suddenly cancelled for “unavoidable reasons” and supporters were told by senior leader Dr Farooq Sattar to go home. Tens of thousands of people had assembled in different places in Karachi, Hyderabad and other towns in Sindh to celebrate their leader’s birthday.
At the same time, the MQM leadership in Karachi and London went into closed-door sessions to discuss the situation arising out of the development. Reports from London said the police had cordoned off the apartment block and preliminary investigations had begun. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack so far and no arrests have been made.
Dr Imran Farooq is remembered by Muttahida loyalists as one of the key figures who laid the foundation for the All Pakistan Mohajir Students’ Organisation (APMSO), which eventually turned out to be a forerunner of the MQM. During the early 1980s, the APMSO was converted into a fully fledged political party to advocate the cause of the Urdu-speaking popuce, mainly in Karachi and other parts of urban Sindh. With Altaf Hussain as its leader, the bespectacled Dr Farooq was appointed secretary general of the party. He was also regarded as one of the main ideologues and the brain behind education of the party cadre.
When in 1992 Altaf Hussain went into self-imposed exile in the wake of a military crackdown, Dr Farooq went underground in Karachi, running the party from hiding. Although he was declared absconder by the then government, he continued to dodge the authorities. Eventually he managed to slip out of the country on a fake passport and under an assumed name. After arriving in London, he applied for political asylum. In the initial years he was one of the main players who helped Altaf Hussain oversee the party’s restructuring from London.
However, a couple of years ago differences emerged, sending Dr Farooq into obscurity. Since then he had been living the life of a recluse, with no role in party affairs. Even then his brutal killing sent the Muttahida rank and file into a daze, leaving them searching for answers.
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Western Farm Press (Online Exclusive) February 14, 2012 Byline: Hembree Brandon The dollars that American cotton producers and importers invest in the Cotton Research and Promotion Program continue to produce “a fine report card,” says Bill Gillon, president and chief executive officer of the Cotton Board at Memphis.
Since the establishment of the checkoff program in 1966, the continuing vision of cotton producers and industry leaders has kept cotton “an economic fixture in the U.S., helping provide an economic return to their families and communities,” he said at the Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation Commodity Conference.
Today, as a result of the research and promotion efforts of Cotton Incorporated, Gillon says, “More consumers believe cotton and cotton blends are best suited for todayas fashions than another fabric. Natural fibers, such as cotton, are perceived as being of a better quality than non-natural fibers.
“Ninety percent of consumers believe cotton is safe for the environment, and significantly, you own one of the most trusted, widely respected, and well-known brands in the world: the Seal of Cotton. ” And, he says, an economic analysis by Texas A&M and Texas Tech Universities, has shown that every $1 invested by producers in the checkoff program generates a return of almost $9, and for every $1 invested by importers there is a $15 return. go to web site christmas tree tax
In the research arena, Gillon notes, Cotton Incorporated has been in the forefront of new techniques and technology to improve cotton production, cotton uses, and cotton marketing, including the cotton module builder, the Engineered Fiber Selection System, wrinkle-resistant technology, the Engineered Knit program, EasiFlo Cottonseed, Tough Cotton durable press technology, and a host of developments to assist world textile mills in a more effective, efficient use of cotton.
Cotton Incorporated also developed one of the worldas most effective marketing campaigns, “The Fabric of Our Lives,” which has helped not only to boost sales of cotton products, but to create an image in consumersa minds that cotton represents superior quality and sustainability. here christmas tree tax
“The vision of cotton industry leaders in the 1950s and 1960s a at a time when the industry was in serious decline and man-made fiber manufacturers were pouring tens of millions of dollars into research and promotion of polyester, Dacron, and other fibers a created the Research and Promotion program that gave our industry a second life, and has continued opening new doors for cotton and its products,” Gillon says.
Challenges and opportunities The leaders guiding todayas program and investing checkoff dollars “are forward-thinking individuals, who are anticipating upcoming challenges and opportunities for our industry.” As an example of recent challenges, he cites the performance apparel company, Under Armour, which had dubbed “cotton as the enemy,” but when they introduced a new line of Charged-Cotton apparel based on research by Cotton Incorporated, “consumers flocked to their products and they posted amazing revenue gains. Thanks to Cotton Incorporated, cotton is now a major player in the performance apparel market.” On another front, last November, Gillon says, the Heritage Foundation, a Washington think tank, “started a firestorm when they opposed what they dubbed a+-Obamaas Christmas tree tax.a “When it was pointed out that there was no tax a just an effort by Christmas tree growers to compete with imported, artificial trees through a new research and promotion program a the attack spread to all other checkoff programs, with the argument that government/private partnerships donat work and should never be supported.
“Within two weeks a senator from South Carolina, which produces a significant amount of cotton, introduced an amendment to eliminate all research and promotion programs a and the cotton program was first on the list.” It was “sad,” Gillon says, that what cotton industry leaders worked so hard to construct could “so quickly and foolishly be thrown on the trash heap in the name of political expediency.
“I was taught not to throw out the baby with the bath water, and Iam concerned when politicians argue forcefully to overnight throw away strong, successful programs like the Cotton Research and Promotion Program, which is a model of effectiveness.” The program “has given back economic returns many times over” from the dollars invested, Gillon says.
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“We should never forget what it took to get us here. We should be diligent and honest about the challenges we face, and we should continue to work collectively and cooperatively to secure our industryas future.”
Yes Imran Farooq has been murdered, but wait don’t become people like Sialkot and start blaming and taking off your frustrations on particular faction/party/person just because you don’t like them or have been exposed to lot of material imposed by the people who never like them or will never want them to become powerful.
Just try to understand few question first “Who is getting the benefit out of this murder?” “Could it be a bigger game then it seem? Look like total start of new propaganda to destabilize a power which is starting to grip the nerve of some?? ”.
Like it or don’t MQM have 100% support from Urdu-Speaking Faction so give them due respect or just name your leaders also in your comments and I can open a plethora of scum that prove them even more dirty then the MQM leaders. NO ONE IS CLEAN IN THIS MESS like what Mantoo has said “Is hamam me sub nange hy”
Please wait and let the investigation get completed and thank you for your patience in advance.
@reading lord, regarding your “i” before “s” question,
Allow me to offer an explanation.
when some word is imported in the Urdu Language, it is written in Urdu, and then spoken as written.
In urdu, the first letter of any word is joined to the next letter by a zabar, zer, or pesh, the first letter does not start with a sukoon or jazm. so the closest way to match the english pronounciation is to add an “alif” at the beginning.
e.g. school ==> iskool, instead of sakool, sukool, or sikool.
hope that answers your question.
Altaf is a curse for Karachi, just like Zardari is a curse for Pakistan.
Imran Farooq’s days last few years in Karachi before he disappeared underground are tainted with violence,terrorism,kidnapping and extortion.
He died a violent death.While underground he worked on spreading hatred against the Pakistan Armed Forces.There is confusion as to where he was hiding from 1992 to 1999.It is said,he escaped to India,others say he escaped to Dubai.The later cannot be true as it is easy to track someone in Dubai than in India.
Secondly most of the MQM’s inner cadre leaders have roots in India hence the possibility.
As long as he lived Farooq was tainted with Jamaat leader Salah uddin’s gruesome murder.
Can someone please tell me, who were the original founders of the MQM? I keep hearing different names, but where were teh main leaders when it began?
I would recommend Scotland Yard should go through these comments .I am very sobre in making this recommendation.It will not only speed up the investigation but shall bring them to a correct conclusion.World has moved forward since the Don Rule of 80s and early 90s.I think this time he will not escape his destined fate.
More comments from the ATP Facebook Page:
- “im sure ye altaf bhai ka kaam hai.imran ko mqm se nikaal diya tha altaf bhai ne bcoz us ne kuchh aisi batain ki thein.”
- “get ready for blood shed in karachi……..”
- “waqaee sochne ki bat yeh he k yahan jo hta he ANP par ilzam laga dete hain ab wahan to ANP nhi he to yeh kis tarha hua….or mazi main jo kuch hta raha he us ko samne rakh kar is bat par sochain to bat samne aa jati he k haqeeqat kya he….or isi ka naam siasat he yaro………..”
- “q whn ANP nahi ja skti?”
- “Peer sab ka naya kar’nama lug ta hay? Azeem Ahmed Tarique k baad Imran Farooque bhi gaey.”
- “we must pray for the deceased…either he was at guilty or not……INNA LILLAHAY WA INNA ALAIHAY RAJAYOON………….hwever another victim of altaf bhai…….”
- “Tariq Ismail Sagar ki book .dahshatgard ,padho samjh aa jaey gi.Yaar bilkul wohi dramey ho rahe hain.Jo bhi Peer sb(BHAI) ka baghi hoa wo jaan se gia.”
- “MART KIYA NA KARTA
ye tu manshoor hai bhai ka”
@tamed
No, dear tamed I may clarify that we Punjabies do not hate Urdu, which is the language of the poetry of Ghalib, Iqbal, Faiz, Ahmad Faraz, etc., all the great poets of Punjab. We hate only its bastardized form with ‘iss’ afixation because it represents a mentality of a low type urdu-people who despise Punjabi as a vulgar language.
Btw, I had Inquired from many urdu friends why they insist on adding ‘i’ while writing words starting with ‘s’ in Urdu while there is no ‘i’ added to the same word when written in Roman script in English. But could not find any reason for that. Can you give me one please?
Regards