ISLAMABAD: British High Commissioner Philip Barton has left Islamabad for London today along with documents given by the government of Pakistan providing information about Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Chief Altaf Hussain.

Diplomatic sources confirmed the departure of Philip Barton and said he is expected to take up the matters referred to him by Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan with senior British officials.

British High Commissioner Philip Barton had met with the interior minister yesterday to discuss matters pertaining to the MQM. During the meeting, which took place at the Punjab House, Nisar shared a copy of the case registered against Altaf in Karachi by the Rangers.

The interior minister also informed the British High Commissioner about other details of the Rangers' raid at MQM headquarters including the arrest of top target killers and the recovery of a huge cache of arms and ammunition.

Read more: Altaf in focus as British envoy, Nisar meet

According to sources, the British High Commissioner was requested by Nisar to share the information with authorities in the UK, including Scotland Yard, which is already investigating Altaf Hussain for a money laundering case.

On Tuesday, Rangers officials filed a case against Altaf Hussain for threatening the paramilitary force. Rangers spokesperson Col Tahir Mehmood, who filed the case against the political party, claimed that following the raid on MQM Headquarters in Karachi's Azizabad neighbourhood, Altaf – in an interview on Geo News – threatened members of the paramilitary force who were involved in the operation.

This is not the first time Altaf will be brought into the focus of British authorities. Earlier in February, the London-based MQM supremo invited the wrath of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan when he made derogatory remarks against PTI women and had also alleged that PTI's container protest in Islamabad last year had been the site of nefarious activities.

PTI's information secretary, Shireen Mazari, who was particularly targeted by Altaf in distasteful remarks, had written a letter to Barton, levelling accusations against the MQM chief and had called upon the British government to take action against him.

Read more: Sound bytes: ‘MQM is a political reality’

Local media reports today quoted sources as saying that eight MQM party members' names have been added to the Exit Control List, preventing them from leaving the country. However, the Interior Ministry said that no such decision has been taken.