KARACHI / ISLAMABAD, Aug 29: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) said on Monday its chief Altaf Hussain was undergoing treatment in a London hospital after falling ill a week ago.

A brief statement issued from London said: “Mr Hussain is under treatment in a local hospital. He fell ill one week ago and was taken to the hospital where doctors are treating him and he is fast recovering.”

The MQM coordination committee appealed to people to remain united, pray for Mr Hussain’s recovery and not to pay heed to rumours.

The MQM statement said nothing about the nature of Mr Hussain’s illness and no party leader was willing to discuss it.

In Islamabad, meanwhile, British High Commissioner Adam Thomson refuted reports appearing in a section of the foreignmedia that the MQM chief was under arrest in London.

Talking to journalists at an Iftar-dinner hosted by the High Commission, he said Mr Hussain was a free man and there was no restriction on his movement.

DawnNews TV quoted Mr Thomson as saying that the Scotland Yard was actively investigating the murder of MQM leader Dr Imran Farooq. He expressed the hope that the investigation would be completed soon.

Answering a question about a letter purportedly sent by Mr Hussain to the then British prime minister Tony Blair as alleged by former Sindh minister Dr Zulfikar Mirza at a press conference on Sunday, Mr Thomson said: “You should ask Altaf Hussain about it.”

He said the UK wanted Pakistan’s progress but it had nothing to do with its internal politics.

He said the UK should not be dragged into internal matters of Pakistan. However, he added, there was no denying the fact that Pakistani politics was ‘full of interest’.