Exiled Pakistani politician Altaf Hussain hospitalized in London

Altaf Hussain, the exiled founder of Pakistan’s Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) party, has been hospitalized in London due to a “severe illness,” a close aide said on Friday.

Mustafa Azizabadi, a senior MQM figure based in London, said in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that Hussain was undergoing extensive medical tests after being admitted to a local hospital. “MQM founder and leader Mr. Altaf Hussain has been hospitalized in London due to a serious illness and is currently undergoing multiple medical tests,” he wrote.

“We urge all party members, supporters, the Muhajir community, and the nation at large to pray for his swift recovery and long life.”

@azizabadi/X

In a follow-up post, Azizabadi provided further details, stating that doctors had conducted a series of diagnostic procedures, including blood tests, an ECG, a CT scan, an X-ray, and an ultrasound.

“Mr Altaf Hussain has since long been suffering from severe emotional stress which included the domestic and international geo-political situations, multiple law suits in London, and fiscal difficulties,” Azizabadi said. “Doctors also recommended a blood transfusion for his treatment and blood has been transfused. Please continue to pray for Altaf Bhai. We are passing through a difficult time with his health. Thank you.”

Hussain, once a powerful political force in Pakistan’s largest city, founded the MQM -- then known as the Mohajir Qaumi Movement -- in the mid-1980s to represent the interests of the Urdu-speaking community that migrated to Pakistan during the Partition of British India in 1947.

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He has lived in self-imposed exile in the United Kingdom since 1992, following what MQM described as a military operation aimed at dismantling the party’s influence predominantly in Karachi and other parts of Sindh. Hussain was later granted British citizenship and continued to play an active role in Pakistani politics from London, often addressing supporters in Karachi through televised or telephonic speeches.

In 2016, the party’s presence in Pakistan suffered a major blow after a crackdown by law enforcement agencies. Its headquarters were sealed, offices bulldozed, and the organization was effectively disbanded. That period also marked a sharp decline in MQM’s electoral support, culminating in a poor showing in the 2018 general elections.

However, MQM’s splintered factions regrouped ahead of Pakistan’s February 2024 elections. The unified entity managed to secure enough seats in Karachi to become the third-largest coalition partner in the federal government, despite widespread allegations of vote rigging surrounding the polls.

Following the 2016 crackdown, Hussain’s relationship with the Pakistani state deteriorated further after he delivered a speech that was widely condemned as being anti-state. The episode led to a formal break within the party, as its Pakistan-based leadership distanced itself from Hussain and established a new faction called MQM-Pakistan.

MQM-Pakistan now serves as the official political representative of the party in Karachi and parts of Sindh, and it publicly maintains that it has no affiliation with the exiled founder. However, some political analysts argue that the split was not entirely voluntary and was the result of intense pressure following the 2016 crackdown.