LONDON: Iftikhar Hussain, a 52-year old suspect in the murder of former Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader Dr Imran Farooq was released on Tuesday by the Police in London, DawnNews reported.

Hussain, who is purportedly a close relative of MQM chief Altaf Hussain, was released as no evidence was found against him, said a statement issued here. However, British authorities were reportedly in contact with their Pakistani counterparts for collection of evidence in the murder case.

The London Met police arrested Iftikhar Hussain from Heathrow Airport upon his arrival from Canada in June earlier this year.

Earlier in May, British detectives had released photographs of two suspects they wanted to trace in connection with Farooq's killing. The two Pakistani nationals were identified as 29-year-old Mohsin Ali Syed and 34-year-old Muhammad Kashif Khan Kamran.

MQM leader Dr Imran Farooq, aged 50, was on his way home from work when he was attacked in Green Lane on Sept 16, 2010 outside his London home. A post-mortem examination found that he died from multiple stab wounds and blunt trauma to the head.

The arrest made by the police in June was the most significant progress in the case in more than a year.

The British police had also searched two residential properties belonging to MQM chief Hussain in London as part of an investigation into the murder.

Farooq, one of the founding members of the MQM, then known as the Mohajir Qaumi Movement, had been living in self-imposed exile in London since 1999.

The party later transformed into the Muttahida Qaumi Movement and became the fourth largest political force in parliament, and is the largest political party in Karachi, Pakistan’s business hub by the Arabian Sea.