Daily Times

A day after his arrest, Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) founder Altaf Hussain was released on bail on Wednesday in the hate speech case.

A 15-member team of Scotland Yard had taken the MQM chief into custody in an early morning raid on Tuesday. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said the current evidence was not enough to charge Altaf Hussain at this stage. However, the investigation against him will continue, a private TV channel reported.

Earlier, Altaf Hussain reportedly refused to answer questions of detectives from the Scotland Yard’s counter-terrorism Command Unit. At the Southwark Police Station, his interview started at 10 pm on Tuesday night and continued for two hours till midnight. He only confirmed his name, date of birth and his residential address. Onwards, he refused to answer questions of the police and decided to go for ‘no comment’ option in response to all the questions asked by the detectives, sources familiar with the development said. The interview started with the police officers explaining to the MQM founder his rights and that he had the option of going for ‘no comment’ but that not commenting could be used against him if he is charged.

Altaf Hussain’s lawyers, present on the occasion, advised him not to answer questions of the police. They told the police that their client will answer questions only before an independent judge and jury if charged and not before the police.