New information has emerged which has linked the murder of former Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) leader Syed Ali Raza Abidi to the Top City case and, thereby, to former Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Lt Gen (retired) Faiz Hameed.
This was disclosed by senior journalist and former Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) chief Absar Alam during a television programme the other day. Alam, who has documented the depths of his run-ins with Lt Gen Hameed when he was PEMRA chief, claimed that the 2018 murder of the former national assembly member from Karachi had links that connected to an officer who was subordinate to the former ISI chief.
Previously, some people have accused Lt Gen Hameed of having had a hand in the sequence of events that led to the brutal murder of journalist Arshad Shareef in Kenya, but allegations of being involved in the murder of the former MNA are a first.
Ali Raza Abidi was assassinated at his doorstep in Karachi in December 2018. The murder came just months after Abidi had 'lost' the July 2018 general elections where he was directly contesting the national assembly seat against eventual winner and prime minister Imran Khan.
Abidi was a well-known member of MQM-P and was once considered quite close to MQM founder Altaf Hussain. He was part of the revamped set of public representatives brought forward by the MQM who presented a softer and sophisticated side of the much-maligned political party.
While four men were arrested and convicted of his murder, this new information links his death to Top City and Lt Gen Faiz Hameed.
Senior journalist Muhammad Bilal Ghouri claims that Top City's owner, Abdul Moeez Kunwar was also linked to the government's ally, the MQM-P. In 2017, when the operation was launched against Top City, reports in the media claimed that terrorists linked to the MQM were found hiding in a private housing society by security agencies.
A report published in 2017 in The Nation claimed that during a raid by security forces, several suspects were apprehended while a large cache of weapons had been recovered.
Anti-terror operation used as cover to usurp a housing scheme
Per the report, Abdul Moeez Kunwar was alleged to be the owner of the Top City housing project. Later, the report claims that Abdul Moeez Kunwar has links with MQM founder Altaf Hussain and that his guard was involved in various crimes in Karachi. He was further accused of siphoning money and funnelling it to Altaf Hussain in London. An intelligence officer reportedly told The Nation that the raid was conducted after links between Abdul Moeez Kunwar and Altaf Hussain were proved.
While the report claimed that the paramilitary Rangers had conducted the raid, the Sachchal Wing of Rangers - which is deployed in Karachi and had primarily led the action against criminal and political elements in MQM - had no information about the action in Islamabad or about Abdul Moeez Kunwar's link to Altaf Hussain. This showed that on the one hand, authorities in Islamabad claimed that the suspects held in Islamabad were detained for their link to crimes committed in Karachi, but instead of information about these alleged criminals was relayed from Karachi to counterparts Rawalpindi, the leadership of Rangers deputed in Karachi were learning about the matter from Rawalpindi.
On the other hand, a member of Abdul Moeez Kunwar's family told the newspaper that the authorities picked him up from his home and not the housing society. Absar Alam later disclosed this information.
After some time, it emerged that the raid was not part of the operation against MQM, but it was a cover for an operation Lt Gen Faiz Hameed had directed for personal gratification.
Absar Alam wrote in a column that the entire drama was orchestrated to put undue pressure on Abdul Moeez Kunwar to sign away his housing society to a woman residing in the UK and to Lt Gen Faiz Hameed's 'revenue collector' brother Najaf Hameed.
Ali Raza Abidi was an investor in Top City
But how does this all link to Ali Raza Abidi apart from the unapparent MQM connection?
Muhammad Bilal Ghouri claims that Abidi was an investor in Top City and a major stakeholder. Abidi primarily owned a popular restaurant in Karachi called Biryani of the Seas and managed his family business of seafood product exports.
Moreover, years before his murder on August 20, 2013, Abidi had posted a picture on 'X' (formerly known as Twitter) in which he said he was attending a barbeque at Top City.
When The Nation published its report in May 2017, Abidi reposted the news story and implored the Chief Justice of Pakistan to take notice of the matter. He also urged residents and business owners of Islamabad to focus on the matter.
Because Abidi had good ties with the media, he kept certain television anchors updated about the situation, and through them, he raised an ever-louder voice for Top City and Abdul Moeez Kunwar.
Muhammad Bilal Ghouri claimed that it became imperative for Lt Gen Faiz Hameed to get rid of Abidi to clear his path for usurping the housing society.
Is Faiz Hameed an 'evil genius'?
Ali Raza Abidi was killed on the evening of December 25, 2018. It wasn't until April this year that four men were sentenced to life for his alleged murder. However, a report claimed that someone had hired them to carry out the deed for Rs800,000. The men did not disclose who hired them.
Lt Gen Faiz Hameed is currently in military custody where he will face a field general court martial (FGCM) over his involvement in the hostile takeover of the Top City housing scheme located in Islamabad, for orchestrating a robbery at the home of Akram Sheikh - who later claimed that then army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa had apologised to him - and for other actions he was involved in after retirement which violated obligations under the Army Act.