Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) founder Altaf Hussain is in the intensive care unit (ICU) at a hospital in Britain, apparently after contracting Covid-19, it emerged on Monday.

Hussain, who has been living in the UK in self-imposed exile since 1991, in an audio message released through his party's social media channels on Saturday (Jan 30) stated that he had been under treatment for nearly three weeks.

"I have been in the ICU in hospital for the last 20 days. It is due to your (supporters') prayers that I have been able to record this message on this day of Saturday, Jan 30, 2021," the MQM leader said in the audio, shared by a web TV channel that favours the MQM on Sunday.

Hussain urged his followers to continue praying for him, saying he would speak to them again after recovering.

"May Allah protect everyone from this disease, Covid-19," he said, and appealed to listeners to "take precautions and help each other".

The MQM has not officially confirmed that Hussain is suffering from Covid-19, but the audio message and statements of MQM Rabita Committee's acting convener Tariq Jawaid both suggest that is the case. Attempts by Dawn to reach MQM's leadership in London for a comment were unsuccessful.

Appearing on the live programme, Jawaid said, "Altaf bhai is not doing well."

But he asked supporters not to pay heed to "rumours", saying: "Altaf bhai is a human too, and the conditions that are prevalent across the world, obviously every person is getting affected."

The MQM founder is "fast on the road to recovery" and is following his doctors' advice fully, the party's acting convener added.

The first indication of Hussain's diagnosis came on January 23 when the MQM tweeted from its official Twitter account: "MQM founder leader Mr. Altaf Hussain got ill. After check-up, doctor advised him to rest and suspend his political activities.

Britain has had one of the world's highest Covid-19 mortality rates and has recorded more than 106,000 deaths — the worst toll in Europe. The country is currently under a third national lockdown as it battles new strains of the coronavirus.

Who is Altaf Hussain?

Hussain was born on September 17, 1953, in Karachi. He obtained his early education at a public school in Karachi’s Azizabad neighbourhood, a middle-class locality in Karachi where the he spent his early years and his youth. He later enrolled at the University of Karachi to study Pharmacy and graduated from the programme in 1979.

Previously known as the Mohajir Qaumi Movement, Hussain’s party started off as a political group with the aim of representing the Urdu-speaking community which had migrated to Pakistan due to Partition.

His political career began during his student years in KU when he and Azeem Ahmed Tariq founded the All-Pakistan Mohajir Students Organisation (APMSO).

Formed in 1978, APMSO gained a massive following within a short period of time.

Under Hussain’s leadership, MQM swept the 1988 election in Sindh’s urban areas, emerging as the third largest party in the country.

Read more: Politics and exile — The story of Altaf Hussain

In the early 1990s, the MQM chief went into exile as the government at the time conducted an operation in Karachi.

The MQM under Hussain was accused of using violent tactics to attain and retain political power. On the contrary, Hussain maintained that the state and other political parties have targeted MQM and its workers ever since its formation.

Viewed as the man who controlled Karachi from London, Hussain came under fire in May 2013 for his televised speech across Pakistan where he allegedly demanded the separation of Karachi from the rest of Pakistan if the public mandate of his party was not acceptable to the 'establishment'. The party later clarified saying it was taken out of context.

However, the final undoing of the MQM, as it was known, came after Hussain delivered an incendiary speech in August 2016 in which he not only raised slogans against Pakis­tan but also called the country “a cancer for the entire world”. Hours after the speech, MQM workers had attacked the ARY News office in Kara­chi.

Authorities launched a crackdown following the speech and the MQM’s Karachi headquarters and Hussain’s residence in Azizabad were sealed. Later, Hussain’s own party leaders in Pakistan distanced themselves from him and omitted his name from the party constitution.

In October 2019, Hussain was charged with "encouraging terrorism" by British police over his speech. He was also arrested in the case earlier in 2019 but has been out on bail since.