ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will formally write to the United Kingdom and seek ‘access to facts’ revealed in a BBC report accusing the MQM of receiving funds from India, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said on Thursday.

Talking to reporters after meeting British High Com­missioner Philip Barton, he said, “On the advice of the high commissioner, I will formally write to the British government to seek their help in the matter on an official level,” adding that it was the UK’s responsibility to assist Pakis­tan in this sensitive matter.

He said the British high commissioner was told that the facts revealed in the report were not only sensitive and important, but also a matter of concern for the people and government of Pakistan, and therefore warranted a transparent investigation.

He said the UK and Pakistan enjoyed cordial relations and security agencies and immigration authorities had a good record of coordination over international and transnational crimes, narcotics control and other major crimes.

Nisar says missing necklace will be in govt possession today

The minister cited the exa­mple of the Dr Imran Farooq murder case and pointed out that a large amount of information had been provided by Pakistan’s security and intelligence agencies to Scotland Yard and the British government, which helped track down the suspects.

Chaudhry Nisar said the revelations made in the documentary lend credence to information about neighbouring India’s activities. He said such information had been provided by the security agencies in the past and was shared with the international community.

Referring to recent jingoistic statements emanating from the top political leadership in New Delhi and the admission by Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India’s involvement in the break-up of Pakistan, he said the documentary aired by a credible broadcasting agency was significant and linked to national security.

Chaudhry Nisar said he also discussed with Mr Barton the arrival of the London Metropolitan Police team — due in the next few days. The team will be interrogating one of the key suspects in the Dr Imran Farooq murder case during its visit.

Asked if Pakistan would call upon the UK to hand over Baloch rebel leaders residing there, he said Pakistan was cooperating with the UK in line with its international commitments. He said that while no quid pro quo arrangement had been made, the UK had already been told that this cooperation should serve as a precedent for the future.

When asked if Pakistan had known any of the revelations made in the BBC documentary, the minister said such information had been pouring in for some time and was also mentioned during a recent interaction with a team from Scotland Yard.

However, he said the disclosures in the report should not be attributed to the MQM as a party, its voters or supporters. He said there were many good and patriotic people within the MQM, adding that the doc­u­mentary was about “certain specific individuals”.

“Investigations are yet to take place and no one should jump to conclusions before that,” he remarked.

MISSING NECKLACE: When asked about the missing necklace, purported to be with former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, he said the government would finally get custody of the item on Friday.

The necklace, gifted by the wife of Turkish prime minister, now President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was supposedly purchased by Nadra in 2010. According to a statement of then Nadra chairman Ali Arshad Hakeem, which was submitted to the FIA last week, Nadra had paid for the necklace on the orders of the former PM.

In an interview with a private TV channel on Thursday, Mr Gilani said he had voluntarily disclosed that the necklace was in his possession and repeated that had it been purchased by Nadra, it would have been in their custody. He said he was recently informed by his personal staff that the necklace was in his possession and said he was returning it to the tosha khana (treasury) of the PM House.

Published in Dawn, June 26th, 2015

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