Pakistan political leader arrested in UK

An exiled Pakistani political leader has been arrested in London on suspicion of money laundering, it emerged Tuesday, prompting fears of unrest in his party's stronghold of Hyderabad. 

Altaf Hussain, the founder of Pakistan’s fourth largest party, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), was taken into custody by police at his home in northwest London, where he has been living in exile since 1992, a party representative told Al Jazeera.

Hussain, 60, has been the subject of a U.K. investigation since 2013 in connection to murder and money laundering allegations. 

Scotland Yard issued a brief statement on Tuesday morning regarding the arrest, but refused to identify the person arrested. It confirmed to Al Jazeera that the same person had been taken into custody, but did not reveal the whereabouts of the police station.

Speaking from London, MQM's Nadeem Nusrat told Al Jazeera that police arrived at Hussain's house between 07:30 and 08:00 GMT.

"They had a search warrant and wanted to question him on suspicion of money laundering," Nusrat said.

"He and the police are still at the house, the search is still going on. We have tried to go to the house but police have stopped us from seeing him."

He added, "We vehemently deny the charges."

Nusrat claimed police had gone to Hussain's house to take a statement, following previous allegations of money laundering, rather than take him into custody.

Gunfire and protests began in the Pakistani city of Hyderabad, an MQM stronghold, within minutes of the arrest being reported. 

Nusrat appealed for calm in Pakistan, especially Karachi, Pakistan's largest city and the biggest MQM base.

"There is a lot of anger and rumors are circulating," he said. "We have appealed for people to remain calm."

A controversial figure, the MQM founder was accused in 2013 of being involved in the murder of two senior Pakistani politicians including Imran Farooq, a former party loyalist who was stabbed to death outside his home in 2010.

U.K. authorities raided Hussain’s office in late 2012 and his home in June 2013, impounding about $600,000 in cash, according to the New York Times. An investigation was launched in 2013 against Hussain in connection to the murder and money laundering allegations.

Hussain, who is seen as one of Pakistan's most powerful and divisive politicians, fled to London in 1992 following a military crackdown on the MQM, which has long been accused of running an armed wing involved in drug trafficking and extortion in Karachi.