MQM founder Altaf Hussain hospitalized in London after his health deteriorates

Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) founder Altaf Hussain was hospitalized in London on Sunday evening after his health deteriorated, the party said.

In a report on The post said he was admitted to the hospital on Sunday evening due to health concerns.

In a post earlier at 3:20 a.m., the party’s official X account said Hussain was taken to hospital on Sunday evening, where doctors admitted him after an initial examination. He adds that doctors “gave him an injection and started an intravenous drip given how weak his body was.”

According to the party, doctors are expected to carry out a detailed medical examination on Monday.

Hussain was also hospitalized in July last year. At the time, London-based MQM leader Mustafa Azizabadi said Hussain underwent medical examinations at a local hospital, where doctors conducted initial examinations and ordered diagnostic tests to assess his condition. He added that doctors also recommended a blood transfusion, which was administered.

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“Altaf Hussain has long been under severe emotional and psychological stress due to multiple factors – including the domestic and international political climate, several ongoing trials in London and ongoing financial difficulties,” Azizabadi said at the time.

Hussain has lived in self-imposed exile in London for more than two decades. He applied for asylum in 1992 and later acquired British citizenship. Pakistani authorities have repeatedly demanded action against him over allegations of inciting violence in Pakistan.

Born in Karachi on September 17, 1953, Hussain began his political career as a student and co-founded the All Pakistan Mohajir Students Organization (APMSO) with Azeem Ahmed Tariq in 1978. He founded the MQM in 1984, then known as the Mohajir Qaumi Movement, to represent the Urdu-speaking community who migrated to Pakistan during Partition.

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In the early 1990s, Hussain went into exile following a government-led security operation in Karachi. During his presidency, the MQM faced allegations of using violence to gain and retain political power, which Hussain denied, saying the party and its workers were being targeted by the state and rival groups.

He attracted criticism in May 2013 after a televised speech in which he reportedly called for the separation of Karachi from Pakistan if his party’s electoral mandate was not accepted by the “establishment”. The MQM later said the remarks were taken out of context.

Hussain is wanted by Pakistani authorities in several cases. He delivered a speech via telephone at a party rally outside the Karachi Press Club on August 22, 2016, after which party members chanted anti-Pakistan slogans and vandalized a nearby press office.

Scotland Yard charged Hussain with terrorist offenses in October 2019, saying his speech encouraged violence and disorder. He was arrested on 11 June 2019 on allegations of breaching section 44 of the Serious Crime Act 2007 and later released on bail.