The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Saturday approached Mustafa Kamal, former mayor Karachi and member of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), as well as Srfaraz Merchant and asked them to cooperate with the agency in the ongoing probe launched following their allegations against MQM chief Altaf Hussain.
An official source said Director FIA Sindh Shahid Hayat has telephonically contacted Kamal in Karachi and invited him to cooperate with the committee constituted for investigating allegations levelled by him and Merchant against the MQM senior leadership for their alleged links with the Indian intelligence agency, Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and money laundering.
He said a meeting of Mustafa Kamal with FIA officials is expected in the next 24 hours. Director FIA Islamabad Inam Ghani and Head of the Committee will probe the allegations levelled against MQM leadership, source said. Following a directive from the Interior Ministry, the FIA has constituted a committee headed by Inam Ghani, Director Islamabad Zone, including Dr Mazhar-ul-Haq Kakakhel, Chief of Staff to the Director General FIA and some other junior officers of the agency to probe the allegations levelled by Sarfraz Merchant.
An inquiry committee of FIA is investigating the charges of money laundering, illegal purchase of weapons and RAW funding against the party. The committee has already issued summons to Merchant and asked him to come to Pakistan to record his statement and provide evidence with respect to allegations he levelled against the MQM leadership. The interior ministry has also asked all security and intelligence agencies to share evidence or information relating to the allegations with the inquiry team.
Merchant, in a TV channel talk show, had accused MQM of having links RAW. He said the Scotland Yard in London had seized several lists of weapons during raids at the MQM chief's residence as part of the money-laundering investigation. The Scotland Yard had told him the political party had been receiving Indian funding, he claimed. He had also expressed his willingness to cooperate with the Pakistani authorities.
MONITORING DESK adds: Federal Investigation Agency's officials have made contacts with Muttahida Qaumi Movement's dissidents - Mustafa Kamal, Anees Kaimkhani, Dr Sagheer Ahmed - as well as with the UK-based Sarfraz Merchant, Aaj News reported on Saturday. FIA team is likely to meet the MQM dissidents and Merchant. Aaj News reported that the FIA team's meeting with Dr Ahmed and Kaimkhani could be held on Monday in which their viewpoint would be recorded. Another news channel reported that FIA would inquire about MQM's alleged connections with Indian intelligence agency RAW.