India rejects BBC report on funding Pak’s MQM

Officials of Pakistan’s Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) have told UK authorities that the party has received Indian government funds, claims rejected by India as “completely baseless”.

According to a BBC special report, UK authorities investigating the MQM for alleged money laundering were told by a Pakistani source about the alleged Indian connections of the party.

The Pakistani official said that India has trained hundreds of MQM activists over the last 10 years in explosives, weapons and sabotage in camps in north and north- east India.

Reacting to the report, the Indian High Commission in London said: “The BBC report on India training MQM members is completely baseless. Shortcomings of governance cannot be  rationalised by blaming neighbours.” The MQM has also refused to comment on the report.

British authorities held <g data-gr-id="28">formal</g> recorded interviews with senior MQM officials who told them the party was receiving Indian funding, the BBC reported.

The claims follow the statement of a senior Karachi police officer Rao Anwar that the arrested MQM militants were trained by India’s external intelligence agency RAW.

The UK authorities started investigating the MQM in 2010 when a senior party leader, Imran Farooq, was stabbed to death outside his home in north London.