MQM has forgotten Dr Imran Farooq, widow says

• Shumaila Imran Farooq pays tribute to her husband. 
• Shumaila says she has been left to rot on her own in absence of her husband.
• She says she has been living in a tiny, run-down one-bedroom flat with her sons without getting help from any of MQM factions. 

LONDON: The widow of slain MQM founding member Dr Imran Farooq has questioned the MQM leadership in a poignant reminder on the 12th death anniversary of her husband.

Dr Farooq, one of the founders of the MQM along with Altaf Hussain, was stabbed and bludgeoned to death near his apartment in London on September 16, 2010. 

In a tweet, Shumaila Imran Farooq paid tribute to her husband and reminded everyone how her life has been a misery and pain ever since the murder of Dr Farooq at his own doorstep in Edgware, West London.

Shumaila, who is a cancer patient and suffers from several other illnesses, said she has been left to rot on her own in the absence of her husband.

"Oh my Allah please open such a door of mercy for me, the width of which could surprise me. There is no sunshine and no shelter in my life anymore. I am a cancer patient living in a one-bedroom house whose husband was killed 12 years ago and who travels on buses. Doctor Imran Farooq has been forgotten by his own people as well as others. Please remember me and my sons in your prayers," former MQM MPA wrote. 

In the next tweet, Shumaila asked where had the MQM disappeared. She said: “Where are the MQM people who have forgotten the families of their own martyrs? The biggest bitter truth of life is the loss of your loved ones. I wish the MQM people understood this."

On the 12th murder anniversary of Dr Farooq, none of the MQM factions issued any statements or tweets in his memory. No events were held in his memory and none of his former colleagues even mentioned him.

Shumaila said that she has been living in a tiny, run-down one-bedroom flat with her two sons Aalishan Farooq and Wajdan Farooq without getting help from any of the MQM factions. 

The MQM-London — run by Altaf — has said it provided help to Shumaila for several years on a regular basis until the party fell on hard times and started facing serious financial issues. 

The MQM-P has never bothered to ever speak to Shumaila or her sons and has not paid her a penny in any capacity. However, it has spent a huge amount of money so far in running a case against Altaf to take control of around four expensive properties in London.

Shumaila has been regularly visiting hospitals for her cancer treatment while her sons attend a local school.

Two years ago in June, a court in Islamabad sentenced three MQM men Khalid Shamim, Mohsin Ali, and Moazzam Ali to life imprisonment for the 2010 murder of Dr Farooq and Scotland Yard has closed the murder file.

Earlier this month, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) rejected the appeals of three convicts in Dr Farooq's murder case and upheld the life sentences handed down by an anti-terrorism court.

A two-member bench headed by Chief Justice Athar Minallah heard the appeals of convicts Khalid Shamim, Mohsin Ali and Moazzam Ali.

An anti-terrorism court earlier had sentenced the three accused to life imprisonment and also ordered them to pay a fine of Rs3 million (1 million by each victim) to the victim's wife as compensation but sources close to Shumaila said she has not received anything as ordered by the court. The Pakistani prosecutors in the case have made no effort to recover the money from the three convicts, according to sources close to Shumaila.